Raising The Bar On Protecting Nuclear Power Plants

Apr 1, 2003 12:00 PM

Security guards at only one out of four nuclear power plants are confident their plant could defeat a terrorist attack, according to interviews conducted in April 2002 by the Project On Government Oversight (POGO), an investigative organization that works with inside sources to improve public policy. POGO randomly contacted and interviewed more than 20 guards protecting 24 reactors at 13 sites last year. The investigation resulted from concerns of current and former guards from commercial nuclear power plants about inadequate security. These guards work at nuclear power plants across the country in all four of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regions. The NRC is obligated to ensure nuclear power plants are operated safely, protecting public health, safety and the environment. To accomplish this, the NRC requires utilities operating reactors to submit security plans for approval. But according to POGO's findings, “the NRC has relied far too much on the nuclear industry to provide insights and there has been virtually no direct communication between the NRC and guard forces.”

Little has changed to bolster security at nuclear power plants since Sept. 11. According to POGO, upgrades that have taken place include only minimal increases in the guard force.

Last month, major security failures in guard forces were discovered at Sandia National Laboratories. Sleeping guards, stolen computer equipment and other events reportedly occurred at the federal government's leading center for security engineering. Sandia Laboratories expressed “serious concerns about the management of the lab's security force.” Other recent security breaches have been reported at Los Alamos National Laboratories and Nevada Test Site.

To prevent further breaches and improve security at nuclear power plants, POGO made recommendations to the NRC, including:

• Consider the security of a plant satisfactory only if it has successfully passed a credible performance test, not because the plant is simply in compliance with NRC regulations;

• Apply a “fatigue rule” to security guards;

• Require a “two-man” rule in vital areas to reduce the risk of insiders;

• Create a prioritized target/asset list; and

• Increase the budget of the Operational Safeguards Response Evaluations (OSRE) staff so it can conduct more frequent and realistic performance tests.

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