NRC Expands its Website to Include 1999 Initiatives, and "Students'/Teachers' Corner"

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	NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
	Office of Public Affairs	Telephone: 301/415-8200
	Washington, DC 20555-001	E-mail: opa@nrc.gov

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No. 99-74
April 12, 1999

NRC EXPANDS ITS WEBSITE TO INCLUDE 1999 INITIATIVES,
AND "STUDENTS'/TEACHERS' CORNER"

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has added two new pages to its Internet website:

• "Initiatives 1999," to inform the public of the staff's progress on key initiatives that Chairman Shirley Ann Jackson committed to during recent Congressional hearings and in meetings with stakeholders; and

• A students' corner and a teachers' corner, with colorful, animated information on NRC's mission and activities.

"Initiatives 1999" relates to a current period of substantial change and re-evaluation within the NRC. At Senate hearings in February and last July, and in recent stakeholder meetings, a number of concerns were discussed -- the predictability, objectivity, and timeliness of NRC decisions, the focus of agency activities, the quality of licensee interactions, and the size of NRC's staff.

In response, the Chairman asked the staff to identify high-priority issues and to develop a plan to communicate the desired outcome of these issues throughout the NRC and to the public, with opportunity for comment. Activities addressed include: risk-informed and performance-based regulation, reactor inspection and enforcement, reactor licensee performance assessment, reactor licensing and oversight, NRC organization and resources, uranium recovery, changes to the hearing process, and other specific areas requiring timely decisions.

The staff's progress on each of these initiatives will be continually updated and posted throughout the year on the "Initiatives 1999" web page.

The students' and teachers' corner site has been fashioned from a previous site for students. It now has an animated presentation that is intended to engage young students' curiosity about nuclear energy in addition to information about the NRC. It also links to a glossary of nuclear terms, a periodic table of the elements, and to some background information on nuclear issues.

The teachers' corner contains an illustrative lesson plan on nuclear energy, a reactor concepts course, and a variety of hands-on activities that could be used in the classroom to teach students about math, radiation, and nuclear activities.

Both the students' and the teachers' corner of the website will be updated and expanded periodically.