Acquiring information from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's NUDOCS database is an invaluable free resource containing over 2 million records since 1978 that journalists can access to research radiation incidents, nuclear facilities, and regulatory actions. Reporters can request a password to search the database at no cost and retrieve full documents through the NRC's Public Documents Room for five cents per page.

Our series on radiation mishaps in hospitals found numerous flaws with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, but an unwillingness to provide information was not among them.

The best proof of this I can offer is the agency's online database NUDOCS, an invaluable source of information for reporters who cover the environment, or who occasionally write about hospitals, universities, nuclear power plants, radioactive waste or other related issues.

NUDOCS, agency lingo for Nuclear Document System, holds more than 2 million records gathered by the NRC since 1978.

Within about a week of issuing inspection reports, technical studies, fines and special investigations, NRC officials have the information summarized and entered on the NUDOCS system. NUDOCS also is an excellent source for correspondence, reports and other records generated by other federal and state agencies, as well as outsiders such as environmental groups, concerned citizens and reporters.

For example, a search for records that mention "Ohio" brings up 2,010 hits. Plug "death" or "killed" into the NUDOCS search menu and 426 records appear. NUDOCS has 10,141 records generated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 46 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and 19 by Vice President Al Gore.

There are 21 records, mostly Freedom of Information Act requests, for which I am listed as the author.

NUDOCS also holds congressional correspondence and transcripts of hearings and important meetings.

Because NUDOCS offers only summaries of documents - ranging from a few sentences to dozens of pages in length - it must be used in conjunction with the NRC's Public Documents Room, which holds the actual records. With the document accession number retrieved from NUDOCS, you can call the Public Document Room's reference desk at (202) 634-3273 and get the records by fax or by mail. The cost is five cents a page.

There is no cost for searching NUDOCS. The NRC doesn't charge for time on the system and the call that connects you is to a toll-free 800 number.

And while NUDOCS was created for use by NRC officials and the libraries that serve as NRC repositories, you can get access. To request a password, simply write to: Gerald F. Cranford Director, Office of Information and Resource Management, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, MNBB6219, Washington, D.C. 20555.