Nation IN BRIEF : NEW HAMPSHIRE : Seabrook Plant’s Licensing Probed

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is investigating whether its decision to grant a full-power license for the Seabrook nuclear power plant was “corruptly induced,” agency documents say. An Aug. 7 memo said the NRC inspector general’s office was interviewing staff members about Nov. 9, 1989, rulings by the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board. The board recommended that the plant in Seabrook, N.H., receive a full-power license and it approved evacuation plans. The action came just two days after an NRC appeals board said it found four problem areas with the previously approved evacuation plans. The NRC licensing board then ruled the four areas not to be a problem.