Editorial Box Score: 24 nuclear defects

That's the number of times operators of U.S. nuclear power plants failed to report equipment defects to federal regulators in the nine months from December 2009 to September 2010. Informing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission about defects that could cause a substantial safety hazard is critical -- and required -- because it enables officials to alert operators of other plants using the same equipment to be on the lookout for flaws. If the industry wants to convince the public that nuclear power is safe, complying with this rule would be a start.