"I said then," he continued, "that we would consider what action could be taken to have the plant closed until such time when the public could be assured by the NRC that the plant was safe and that our people are being protected." He reported that immediately after his Jan. 15 press conference, he received a call from Hubert Miller, the regional administrator of the NRC.

Since then Spano said he has held numerous discussions with NRC officials where he pressed the agency for a formal confirmation of their responsibility for the plant's safe operations. Spano also noted that he received a letter from Miller that arrived late Thursday evening (Jan. 18).

"The letter from the NRC assured me that they were and had been carefully monitoring the plant and that it has received double the amount of scrutiny and inspection time of any other plant. They finally said what we have been asking for all along: that they won't let the plant continue to operate unless, in their opinion, it is safe," Spano said.