DoomsdaysCW<p>Experts warn <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Trump" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Trump</span></a>’s <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/nuclear" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>nuclear</span></a> blitz could trigger ‘Next <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ThreeMileIsland" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ThreeMileIsland</span></a>' </p><p>by Brett Wilkins, Common Dreams<br>May 24, 2025 </p><p>"U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday signed a series of executive orders that will overhaul the independent federal agency that regulates the nation's nuclear power plants in order to speed the construction of new fissile reactors—a move that experts warned will increase safety risks.</p><p>"According to a White House statement, Trump's directives 'will usher in a nuclear energy renaissance,' in part by allowing Department of Energy laboratories to conduct nuclear reactor design testing, green-lighting reactor construction on federal lands, and lifting <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/RegulatoryBarriers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RegulatoryBarriers</span></a> 'by requiring the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NRC" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NRC</span></a>) to issue timely licensing decisions."</p><p>"The Trump administration is seeking to shorten the yearslong NRC process of approving new licenses for nuclear power plants and reactors to within 18 months.</p><p>"White House Office of Science and Technology Director Michael Kratsios said Friday that 'over the last 30 years, we stopped building nuclear reactors in America—that ends now.'</p><p>" 'We are restoring a strong American nuclear industrial base, rebuilding a secure and sovereign domestic nuclear fuel supply chain, and leading the world towards a future fueled by American nuclear energy,' he added. [And radioactive waste!!!]</p><p>"However, the Union of Concerned Scientists (<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/UCS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>UCS</span></a>) warned that the executive orders will result in 'all but nullifying' the NRC's regulatory process, 'undermining the independent federal agency's ability to develop and enforce <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/safety" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>safety</span></a> and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/security" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>security</span></a> requirements for commercial nuclear facilities.'</p><p>" 'This push by the Trump administration to usurp much of the agency's autonomy as they seek to fast-track the construction of nuclear plants will weaken critical, independent <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/oversight" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>oversight</span></a> of the U.S. nuclear industry and poses significant safety and security risks to the public,' UCS added.</p><p>"<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EdwinLyman" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>EdwinLyman</span></a>, director of nuclear power safety at the UCS, said, 'Simply put, the U.S. nuclear industry will fail if safety is not made a priority.'</p><p>" 'By fatally compromising the independence and integrity of the NRC, and by encouraging pathways for nuclear deployment that bypass the regulator entirely, the Trump administration is virtually guaranteeing that this country will see a serious accident or other <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/radiological" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>radiological</span></a> release that will affect the health, safety, and livelihoods of millions,' Lyman added. 'Such a disaster will destroy public trust in <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NuclearPower" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NuclearPower</span></a> and cause other nations to reject U.S. <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/nuclear" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>nuclear</span></a> technology for decades to come.'</p><p>"Friday's executive orders follow reporting earlier this month by NPR that revealed the Trump administration has tightened control over the NRC, in part by compelling the agency to send proposed reactor safety rules to the White House for review and possible editing.</p><p>"<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AllisonMacfarlane" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>AllisonMacfarlane</span></a>, who was nominated to head the NRC during the Obama administration, called the move 'the end of independence of the agency.'</p><p>" 'If you aren't independent of political and industry influence, then you are at risk of an accident,' Macfarlane warned.</p><p>"On the first day of his second term, Trump also signed executive orders declaring a dubious 'national energy emergency' and directing federal agencies to find ways to reduce regulatory roadblocks to 'unleashing American energy, including by boosting <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/FossilFuels" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>FossilFuels</span></a> and nuclear power.</p><p>"The rapid advancement and adoption of artificial intelligence systems is creating a tremendous need for energy that proponents say can be met by nuclear power. The Three Mile Island nuclear plant—the site of the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history—is being revived with funding from <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Microsoft" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Microsoft</span></a>, while <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Google" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Google</span></a> parent company <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Alphabet" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Alphabet</span></a>, online retail giant <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Amazon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Amazon</span></a>, and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Facebook" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Facebook</span></a> owner <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Meta" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Meta</span></a> are among the competitors also investing in nuclear energy.</p><p>" 'Do we really want to create more <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/RadioactiveWaste" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RadioactiveWaste</span></a> to power the often dubious and questionable uses of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AI" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>AI</span></a>?' <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/JohannaNeumann" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>JohannaNeumann</span></a>, Environment America Research & Policy Center's senior director of the Campaign for 100% <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/RenewableEnergy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RenewableEnergy</span></a>, asked in December.</p><p>" '<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BigTech" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>BigTech</span></a> should recommit to solutions that not only work but pose less risk to our <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/environment" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>environment</span></a> and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/health" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>health</span></a>,' Neumann added."</p><p><a href="https://www.rawstory.com/trump-nuclear-2672196220/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">rawstory.com/trump-nuclear-267</span><span class="invisible">2196220/</span></a> </p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/RethinkNotRestart" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RethinkNotRestart</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NoNukes" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NoNukes</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NoNukesForAI" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NoNukesForAI</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BigTech" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>BigTech</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EnvironmentalRacism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>EnvironmentalRacism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/UraniumMining" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>UraniumMining</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NuclearWaste" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NuclearWaste</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/TEPCOLies" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>TEPCOLies</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/TrumpLies" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>TrumpLies</span></a> <br><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/HoltecLies" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>HoltecLies</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WaterIsLife" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>WaterIsLife</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NuclearPowerPlants" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NuclearPowerPlants</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Datacenters" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Datacenters</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AIPollution" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>AIPollution</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MicrosoftSucks" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>MicrosoftSucks</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/TrumpSucks" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>TrumpSucks</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NuclearIsNotCarbonFree" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NuclearIsNotCarbonFree</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CancerRates" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>CancerRates</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Downwinders" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Downwinders</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NuclearPowerCorruptionAndLies" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NuclearPowerCorruptionAndLies</span></a></p>