From Three Mile Island to the Future Improving Worker Safety and Health In the U.S. Nuclear Power Industry

The Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future (BRC) asked us to study whether
occupational safety and health conditions in today's U.S. nuclear industry are reasonably safe,
and if those conditions have improved since the Three Mile Island event in 1979. The BRC also
asked us to look to the future, to try to anticipate worker safety and health risks that should be
addressed by the industry, its government regulators and private watchdogs.
Over the eight weeks allotted, we performed a limited review of the literature and spoke with
stakeholder representatives from utilities, contractors, unions, government regulators, and
environmental groups. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) provided written responses
to a long list of question we submitted to it. However, in the time available to us, we were
unable to gain access to anyone at the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO).
We began this study with the knowledge that the defense nuclear operations have exposed
workers to risks, and that independent medical evaluations of older DOE workers have found
significant rates of a variety of illnesses that are associated with their DOE work. We also knew
that Congress had adopted legislation in 2000 to provide former and current DOE workers with
compensation for such illnesses. Therefore, we approached our task with vigilance.