원자력 규제위원회는 원자력 발전 업계와 긴밀하게 협조하여 낡은 원자로의 안정성 기준을 준수하려는 노력을 하고 있으나 많은 경우 실제로 기준이 지켜지지 않은 것으로 AP통신의 조사에서 나타났다.
미국의 원자력 규제 위원회는 본 규정이 너무 엄격하여 위험에 노출되지 않는 범위 내에서 규정을 완화해야 한다고 주장하고 있다.
(사진제공: AP통신)
This photo made available by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission shows a 10-gallon-per-minute leak which sprung in rusted piping that carried essential service water at the Byron nuclear plant in Illinois.
The water is needed to cool the reactor in an emergency. The plant was immediately taken offline for repairs. Federal regulators have been working closely with the nuclear power industry to keep the nation's aging reactors operating within safety standards by repeatedly weakening those standards, or simply failing to enforce them, an investigation by The Associated Press has found.
Time after time, officials at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission have decided that original regulations were too strict, arguing that safety margins could be eased without peril, according to records and interviews. (AP Photo)
김희광 기자 april4241@naver.com