NRC Safety Committee Signs Off On AP1000 Reactor Design Changes

The Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) has concluded that changes proposed in the AP1000 ® Design Control Document (DCD) amendment, including those made in Revision 19, maintain the robustness of the previously certified design and that the revised design can be built and operated without undue risk to the health and safety of the public.

In a formal letter from the ACRS to Gregory B. Jaczko, chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the ACRS states that it agrees with the NRC Staff's Final Safety Evaluation Report (FSER) for the AP1000 DCD amendment. The AP1000 FSER includes the NRC Staff's evaluation and ultimate concurrence with all AP1000 design changes included in the latest DCD. Conclusion that the AP1000 design is safe and meets all regulatory requirements comes after several meetings and discussions with representatives of the NRC Staff, Westinghouse Electric Company, and members of the public.

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Utilities in Georgia, South Carolina and Florida are awaiting the granting of Design Certification so that each can move ahead and reference the AP1000 design in its combined construction and operating license (COL) applications. Once the NRC grants each utility a COL, each new plant constructed will create approximately 2,000 to 3,000 onsite jobs and hundreds of support jobs during construction, positively impacting America's manufacturing and construction industries with materials and labor expected to be provided from more than 20 states. New or expanded American manufacturing centers geared to support these projects have opened recently in Louisiana, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, New Hampshire and Minnesota.

http://www.thestreet.com/story/11259286/acrs-concludes-ap1000-maintains-robustness-of-previously-certified-design-and-is-safe.html

that seems to have launched into PR and damage control mode in the wake of the Fukushima disaster?
Is this appropriate behaviour for an oversight body?

There, I fixed the headline.