The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is an independent agency of the federal government with a mission to protect public health and safety from the hazards of the civilian use of nuclear energy technology. The NRC oversees nuclear power reactors, radioactive waste disposal, and medical, industrial, and academic uses of nuclear materials. The NRC was created through the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, which divided the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC, created in 1947) into the NRC and the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA). The ERDA was subsequently subsumed into the Department of Energy (DOE).

Prior to the reorganization, the AEC both regulated and promoted nuclear energy technology as well as managed the nuclear weapons complex. Having both regulatory and promotional functions for nuclear technology within the AEC led many in Congress and in the general public to charge the AEC with a conflict of...