NRC chairman resigns amid battle over lessons from Fukushima

"After an incredibly productive three years as chairman, I have decided this is the appropriate time to continue my efforts to ensure public safety in a different forum. This is the right time to pass along the public safety torch to a new chairman who will keep a strong focus on carrying out the vital mission of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission."

Despite the pressure on Jaczko, the White House proclaimed publicly up until last month that it backed him. For its part, the nuclear power industry, which had tersely noted "the question of a chilled working environment" at the NRC after allegations of yelling at staff, seemed to soften in its parting assessment.

"We have had differences with the chairman on how best to achieve our mutually shared safety goals," said the Nuclear Energy Institute president Marvin Fertel in a statement. "But to his credit we've always had open lines of communications and a willingness to respectfully discuss the issues. This has especially been the case over the past 13 months since the accident at the Fukushima plant in Japan. We wish the chairman the best in his future endeavors."

There was, however, far less bonhomie on Capitol Hill as combatants over nuclear regulation and safety issues sought to cast Jaczko's tenure in their own way.

"The resignation of Chairman Jaczko will close an ugly chapter and allow the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to focus on its mission – ensuring the safe operations of the nation's nuclear plants," Representative Issa said in a statement.

Sen. James Inhofe (R) of Oklahoma said Jazcko's "inappropriate behavior" had undermined the NRC. "It was abundantly clear that Chairman Jaczko used his office to undermine the NRC to the point that all four of his fellow commissioners wrote to the president to ask for assistance as a last resort," Mr. Inhofe said in a statement.

But Jaczko's supporters noted that he had been subjected to relentless personal attacks by his fellow commissioners and nuclear industry supporters.

“Greg has led a Sisyphean fight against some of the nuclear industry’s most entrenched opponents of strong, lasting safety regulations, often serving as the lone vote in support of much-needed safety upgrades recommended by the Commission’s safety staff," said Rep. Edward Markey (D) of Mass. in a statement. "I call upon the White House to nominate a successor with the same dedication, independence and safety record. His shoes will be very hard to fill."

Nuclear safety watchdogs, however, say the fight over Jaczko's management style or lack thereof belies the fundamental conflict over whether or not the NRC is an agency that is capable of conducting its mission – or is too close to the industry it oversees.

“The NRC’s failure to protect the public existed long before Gregory Jaczko became the NRC chairman,” said Lisbeth Gronlund, a physicist and co-director of the Global Security Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nuclear industry watchdog, said in a statement following the April congressional hearings. “Congress should not be sidetracked into thinking he is the source of the problem or that his removal would be the solution.”

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