NRC Hoarding Microfiche Machines, Investigation Finds

(Rockville, MD) — An internal investigation has found that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has a plethora of spare, unused microfiche machines. Yet no one can use them for their main purpose: disseminating publicly-available information.

The situation was brought to light through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, filed by a member of the public, after being reprimanded for suggesting that they be able to use one of the functional, yet unavailable, machines.

"The machines available to the public are at least 25 years old," said the member of the public's lawyer, speaking on condition of anonymity. "They don't often work well, and the public still has the right to publicly-available information. Every Federal agency has the duty to make this information available during their normal business hours."

"I was yelled at," said the member of the public, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Now, I know that's how [NRC Chairman Gregory B.] Jaczko handles things, but that's not the way members of the public deserve to be treated. All I asked about was when the machines in the Public Document Room [PDR] would be operational. What I got was a tirade on how there was an additional machine, but it was for staff only. And who knew what would happen if a member of the public used a machine for staff only?"

In probing the condition of the microfiche machines in the PDR, it was discovered that dozens of machines are currently mothballed. According to the member of the public's lawyer, continuing to speak on condition of anonymity, learning why these machines aren't being used to replace the non-functional units currently available is what the next stage of the investigation will attempt to uncover.