Nuclear Regulation: NRC's Nuclear Materials Program Needs Improvement to Protect Public Health and Safety

GAO discussed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) regulation of nuclear materials, focusing on: (1) NRC oversight of states that control nuclear materials themselves and it oversight of states that do not regulate nuclear materials; and (2) the effectiveness of these programs. GAO noted that: (1) NRC does not have a common set of performance standards and evaluation methods to compare its programs; (2) NRC does not collect and summarized comparable data for each program; (3) in response to GAO concerns, NRC has formed a task force to establish common performance indicators for the two programs, which it expects to incorporate in its program reviews in 1994; (4) NRC cannot objectively and quantitatively measure the state programs due to inaccurate or incomplete nationwide information; and (5) NRC lacks specific criteria and procedures to suspend or revoke agreement-state programs.