The Trump administration has overhauled a set of nuclear safety directives and shared them with the companies it is charged with regulating, without making the new rules available to the public, according to documents obtained exclusively by NPR.

The sweeping changes were made to accelerate development of a new generation of nuclear reactor designs. They occurred over the fall and winter at the Department of Energy, which is currently overseeing a program to build at least three new experimental commercial nuclear reactors by July 4 of this year.

The Experimental Breeder Reactor II at Idaho National Laboratory. Several companies are now pursuing experimental reactor designs in the hopes of upending the nuclear power industry.

Technology

Trump's rush to build nuclear reactors across the U.S. raises safety worries

The changes are to departmental orders, which dictate requirements for almost every aspect of the reactors' operations — including safety systems, environmental protections, site security and accident investigations.

https://www.npr.org/2026/01/28/nx-s1-5677187/nuclear-safety-rules-rewritten-trump

Easing regulations on crypto and banking already. And now on nuclear power. What could possibly go wrong?

1 hour ago, Alan Zweibel said:

Easing regulations on crypto and banking already. And now on nuclear power. What could possibly go wrong?

I don't know. Did they buy Chinese reactors? Skies the limit if so🤣

37 minutes ago, SunnyinBangrak said:

I don't know. Did they buy Chinese reactors? Skies the limit if so🤣

Chinese nuclear accidents. The US record is pretty piss poor, so it could be an improvement. And you can't really cover up accidents. When they happen, the whole world knows.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nuclear_power_accidents_by_country