NYT: Review of Nuclear Plant Security Is Faulted

[DeepModem Mom]

Review of Nuclear Plant Security Is Faulted
By MATTHEW L. WALD

Published: September 15, 2004


WASHINGTON, Sept. 14 - Nuclear power plants will soon be required to defend against bigger, more capable groups of attackers, but Congressional auditors said Tuesday that it would be years before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission would know if the plants meet the requirements.

The commission has been ordering changes since the Sept. 11 attacks, and in April 2003 it published requirements, which take effect next month, for how many attackers a plant must be prepared to repel, and what training, weapons and tactics it should employ. The commission required plant owners to submit plans on how they would comply.

But the commission's assessment of the plans "has been rushed and is largely a paper review," Jim Wells, an auditor at the Government Accountability Office, the Congressional agency formerly known as the General Accounting Office, said at a House subcommittee hearing. The owners' submissions consisted mostly of checking "yes" and "no" boxes on a form initially developed by the industry, Mr. Wells said.

The plans do not detail "defensive positions at the site, how the defenders would deploy to respond to an attack or how long the deployments would take," he said.

The agency has visited only four or five of the plants to look at security arrangements, Mr. Wells testified before the subcommittee on national security of the House Government Reform Committee....

(The article also discusses the hiring of Wackenhut, a security company owned by Group 4 Falck, to train workers who will conduct mock attacks on facilities. Critics point out that Wackenhut also provides guards at half the plants, "creating a conflict of interest." Wells said that Wackenhut "attackers" may have "tipped off" Wackenhut "defenders" before a June, 2003, drill.)


http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/15/politics/15nuke.html