The Trump administration’s Department of Energy altered nuclear safety oversight for reactors on its properties, eliminating about one-third of the rulebook and revising other sections, according to an NPR report.
Nuclear startups raised more than $1 billion over the last several months. Data centers’ substantial electricity demand served as one driving force behind this funding surge.
The Department of Energy oversees safety and security for nuclear power plants constructed on its properties. Roughly one-third of the existing nuclear safety rulebook has been removed entirely. Several remaining sections underwent heavy revisions that downgraded previous strict requirements.
Requirements previously designed to limit groundwater contamination and broader environmental contamination now function solely as suggestions rather than mandates. Workers at reactors built by the Department of Energy may receive higher radiation doses under these updated rules.
Plant security protocols, once specified in detail by federal guidelines, are now primarily delegated to the discretion of the operating company.
The new rules took effect without any period for public comment or prior notice to the public. These modifications apply exclusively to reactors situated on Department of Energy property. Reactors constructed elsewhere continue to fall under oversight by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Several nuclear startups are developing demonstration reactors specifically on Department of Energy property. Their objective is to complete these projects in time to meet a Trump administration deadline set for July 4, 2026.
