Staffing Challenges Loom Over Reactor Reviews at Nuclear Agency

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission pledged Wednesday to staff up to tackle licensing of advanced reactors while keeping up with its current workload of overseeing the country’s aging nuclear fleet.

The five-member commission defended its budget request of about $1 billion before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. The commission is tasked with overseeing safety at the country’s 93 operating reactors and preparing for license applications from possibly dozens of future reactors that use a variety of new technologies.

Senators in both parties supported the role of nuclear energy in the country’s energy mix to combat climate change and provide ...