Anna Bradford to lead NRC Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Bradford joined the NRC in 2000 as an environmental engineer specializing in decommissioning projects. She subsequently held a series of other positions with the regulatory agency before moving in 2021 to the International Atomic Energy Agency, where she has been serving as director of the agency’s Division of Nuclear Installation Safety.

Agency reorganization: Until Bradford assumes her new position, Jeremy Groom will continue to serve as acting director of Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. As part of the ongoing NRC reorganization, Groom is also slated to serve as acting director of the newly created Office of the Chief Nuclear Reactor Inspector.

Under the reorganization, the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation will still manage operating reactor license renewals and amendments and the nonpower reactor licensing program, in addition to taking over most of the functions of the present Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response.

Environmental protection and safety: A profile about Bradford that was published by the IAEA in 2022 described her commitment to both environmental protection and safety. “Protecting people and the environment has been an important element of my work, because I believe that we, living on this globe, have a responsibility to make sure that we’re not irreversibly damaging the environment. I think that my work has helped contribute to that,” she said at the time.

“The idea throughout must be that safety always comes first, and the key ingredient to achieving a safety culture is open communication,” she continued. “As a leader, I believe it is my responsibility to remove barriers to success. I encourage people that work with me to really engage and to have well-rounded discussions where people feel that they can speak up even if they disagree. It’s very important to ensure that the shared expertise has been considered in decisions, because this in return strengthens overall safety.”