WASHINGTON - The government shelved a proposal Monday that would have let contractors at federal nuclear facilities pick which safety rules they should follow.

The idea had come under fire from lawmakers, a government safety board and even some contractors themselves.

Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham (news - web sites) said in a letter to John Conway, chairman of independent Defense Nuclear Safety Board, that he was suspending the drafting of new regulations for implementing the proposal to get more suggestions.

Abraham said he was "deeply concerned by the perception" that the rule proposed by the agency two months ago would have endangered workers.

After The Associated Press reported on the plan last month, the safety board, members of Congress, union officials and other safety advocates came out in opposition to replacing long-standing government safety requirements at the plants.

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..."The whole congressional action looks like a shell game," said Steve Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists, which tracks work by U.S. intelligence agencies. "There may be enough of a difference for them to claim TIA was terminated while for all practical purposes the identical work is continuing."

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