Belittling nuclear safety

Since the 2011 Fukushima disaster, many governments have moved toward enhancing the safety regulations of nuclear power plants. Building a safer nation is also one of two major goals following the governmental shakeup initiated by Park Geun-hye’s transition team.

So how should one interpret their decision to downgrade the status of the nation’s nuclear regulatory agency by incorporating it into a new super ministry responsible for science, information and communication?

Park’s aides cite two ― equally egregious ― reasons: First, the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) is so isolated from other agencies that few officials will work there. Second, the existing NSSC failed to show much efficiency in monitoring and enforcing safety regulations. It’s hard to know which is more stupid; the decision or the excuses.

It is common sense that regulatory agencies should remain separate from the organizations they oversee to prevent conflicts of interests.

Can anyone imagine swapping officials of the Board of Audit and Inspection with those at say, industry-related ministries for the sake of helping government employees diversify their careers? The main reason the NSSC is not doing its job properly is because President Lee Myung-bak, who is far more interested in promoting nuclear industry than the safety issue, has named an unsuitable figure as its head.

So the solution lies not in lowering its status but in raising its efficiency.

What’s worrisome is that the next president seems to be little better than the present one as far as nuclear safety ― and overall energy policy for that matter ― is concerned. While campaigning, the President-elect said she should maintain the current energy mix by pushing ahead with the construction of additional atomic power plants. The more she adheres to nuclear power, the greater focus there will be on safety issues. By merging a regulatory body into an industry-promoting one should never be the answer.

Not only must she maintain it as an independent presidential body, she also ought to appoint a strong person with expertise and a history of responsible leadership to head it.

Park used to emphasize safety regarding food and traffic problems. It’s a mystery to us why it has not dawned upon her that nuclear energy is a safety issue of paramount importance.