The chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Gregory Jaczko, has announced his resignation after a lengthy clash with the nuclear industry and his four industry-backed fellow panelists. Jaczko has consistently been in the minority on the five-person NRC board, opposing the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump in Nevada and calling for tougher regulation in the aftermath of Japan’s Fukushima disaster. Earlier this year, Jaczko was the sole NRC member to vote against two new nuclear power reactors at Southern Nuclear’s Vogtle site in Georgia, the first new reactors in the United States since 1978. In a statement on Monday, Jaczko said: “My responsibility and commitment to safety will continue to be my paramount priority after I leave the Commission and until my successor is confirmed.”