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On Dec. 12, Russell sent a letter informing Northeast that because "certain of your activities may have been conducted in violation of license requirements," the NRC was considering penalties. In an extraordinary move, Russell demanded a complete review of every system at Millstone 1, with the results "submitted under oath," to prove that every part of the plant is safe--the global examination Galatis asked for two years ago. The results, Russell wrote, "will be used to decide whether or not the license of Millstone Unit 1 should be suspended, modified or revoked."
Now the pressure is on NRC Chairwoman Jackson to prove her commitment to nuclear safety--and her ability to reform an inert bureaucracy. "I will not make a sweeping indictment of NRC staff," Jackson, a straight-talking physicist who in July 1995 became both the first female and the first African American to run the NRC, told TIME. "Does that mean everybody does things perfectly? Obviously not. We haven't always been on top of things. The ball got dropped. Here's what I'm saying now: The ball will not get dropped again."
In response to the problems Galatis exposed, Jackson launched a series of policies designed to improve training, accountability and vigilance among inspectors and NRC staff. She ordered the agency's second whistle-blower study in two years and a nationwide review of all 110 nuclear plants, to find out how many have been moving fuel in violation of NRC standards. The results will be in by April, along with a menu of fuel-pool safety recommendations. (By using a technique called dry-cask storage, utilities could empty their pools and warehouse rods in airtight concrete containers, reducing risk. In the past, the NRC has ruled that the process isn't cost effective.)
Jackson still refuses to meet with Galatis or even take his phone call. "Mr. Galatis is part of an adjudicatory process," she explains. But in a letter turning down Stephen Comley's request that she meet with him and Galatis, Jackson wrote, "The avenues you have been using to raise issues are the most effective and efficient ways. I see no additional benefit to the meeting."
Asked by TIME if she considered three years and two wrecked careers "the most efficient" way to raise the fuel-pool issue, Jackson offered a thin smile. "I'm changing the process," she said. "When all is said and done, then Mr. Galatis and I can sit and talk."