Sanders Praises Obama Pick For NRC Chair

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Senator Bernie Sanders says he’s encouraged by President Barack Obama’s choice to head the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Sanders says Allison Macfarlane appears to have the qualifications and credentials to head the commission which he has frequently criticized as being insufficiently tough on the industry it regulates.

Macfarlane has a doctorate in geology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is widely regarded as an expert on disposal of nuclear waste. She was a member of a special commission appointed by Obama to study what to do with nation’s nuclear waste following the decision that a planned waste site at Nevada’s Yucca Mountain would not be built.

Macfarlane replaces outgoing NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko, who Sanders was a strong safety advocate, but who was criticized by fellow commissioners.

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