1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

I am writing to demand immediate transparency regarding the Department of Energy's secret rewriting of nuclear safety rules and to urge restoration of critical worker safety protections that have been eliminated. The Trump administration has secretly rewritten nuclear safety regulations governing DOE nuclear reactors to accelerate development of Small Modular Reactors, with a goal of building at least three experimental commercial reactors by July 4, 2026. NPR obtained over a dozen new departmental orders that are not publicly available, revealing that over 750 pages were cut from earlier versions, leaving only about one-third of the original content. These changes directly threaten worker safety. The elimination of the "As Low As Reasonably Achievable" standard, which requires operators to keep radiation exposure below legal limits whenever possible, removes a fundamental protection for workers at these facilities. The removal of the requirement for a Cognizant System Engineer for each critical safety system eliminates accountability for worker safety oversight. Most concerning, seven security directives totaling over 500 pages were consolidated into a single 23-page order, removing detailed requirements for firearms training, emergency drills, and limits on security officer work hours. Christopher Hanson, former Nuclear Regulatory Commission chair, stated that "relaxing nuclear safety and security standards in secret is not the best way to engender public trust." Edwin Lyman of the Union of Concerned Scientists warned that officials are "taking a wrecking ball to the system of nuclear safety and security regulation oversight that has kept the U.S. from having another Three Mile Island accident." I urge you to take immediate action to demand public disclosure of all rewritten nuclear safety orders, hold oversight hearings on these changes, and introduce legislation requiring DOE nuclear facilities to meet the same safety standards as commercial reactors regulated by the independent Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Workers and communities deserve transparency and protection, not secret deregulation that prioritizes speed over safety.