Edwin Lyman is Senior Global Security Scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). He specialises in nuclear proliferation, nuclear terrorism, and nuclear power safety. He has published many articles in journals and magazines, written many reports, and has been cited in many news stories. Before joining UCS in 2003, Lyman was president of the Nuclear Control Institute. He has a doctoral degree in physics from Cornell University.
According to Lyman, despite the events of September 11, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has voted to delay implementation of safety and security upgrades in ways that will weaken protection of nuclear power plants. Lyman says that these new moves illustrate an "ominous trend". Pressure from the nuclear industry to delay tighter security arrangements has succeeded, with the full support of the NRC’s commissioners. Commissioners backing of these retrograde measures could be seen as providing industry protection rather than defending the safety of the public.