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Critics blast nuke plant secrecy
Rep. Smith: Public has right to know
By R. SCOTT RAPPOLD The York Dispatch
8/6/2004
A local watchdog group is blasting the decision by the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission to keep information on security at power plants from the public.
The NRC announced the decision Wednesday, saying it will keep details on
security lapses out of the hands of terrorists that could exploit them. Such
information had long been available in regular reports on the agency's Web
site.
But Eric Epstein, president of TMI Alert, a private group that monitors both
the Three Mile Island and Peach Bottom nuclear power plants, said the move
will not only keep the public from knowing how safe the plants are but will
hamper efforts by concerned citizens to enact changes he said the plants
would never do on their own.
"One of the reasons we have security upgrades at nuclear power plants are
because of pressure by groups like ours," Epstein said. "I don't think the
NRC or the industry have earned the public's trust. They have been slow to
make changes in security in the post-9/11 world."
Safety: The NRC said the decision was actually made in March but kept
secret. It was revealed in Washington, at the commission's
first public meeting on power plant safety since the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks.
"The Commission has a responsibility for public health and safety, and that
responsibility is evaluated in considering which information should be made
public," NRC Chairman Nils Diaz said in a written statement. "We deliberated
for many months on finding the balance between the NRC's commitment to
openness and the concern that sensitive information might be misused by
those who wish us harm."
The NRC regularly updates inspection reports at all nuclear plants,
including violations of security at the facilities.
For example, still available on the commission's Web site are security
violations found in 1996 at both local plants:
In 1996, the agency found sensitive information on security at Peach Bottom
had been improperly stored on a computer and in an "uncontrolled manner" at
various PECO Nuclear offices around the state.
The same year, nuclear inspectors at TMI found a 96-inch-wide opening in a
storm drain that provided access to the plant.
And in 1993, after an escaped mental patient crashed a car through the gates
of TMI, the agency made public the various security lapses that allowed the
incident to occur.
But officials say this is the kind of information that could be used by
terrorists in attacks on the plants, and those attempting to access the
"safeguards" section of a plant's latest evaluation now find it listed
unavailable.
Law enforcement and other emergency officials will still have access to
security information, the NRC said.
Make changes: Epstein, whose group has been calling for tighter safeguards
against terrorism at nuclear plants for more than a decade, said the NRC has
not been aggressive in requiring security changes at nuclear plants, so it
has been up to groups like TMI Alert to raise a clamor for them.
"We were one of the first organizations to draw attention to security
loopholes at nuclear power plants. We were able to do so by having access to
public documents," Epstein said. "They're taking away the ability for us to
gauge whether or not security is sufficiently improving."
And he worries the NRC could interpret the decision to keep secret many
details from plant inspections, beyond just the physical security systems in
place.
"This essentially gives the companies the ability to withhold any and all
details regarding the plant's operation. Just about everything they do has
to do with safety and security," Epstein said. "We will no longer know how
many people are there to secure the plant."
"I think everybody should be concerned about this development," Epstein
said. "You have to be actively engaged in preventing terrorism, and it
doesn't help when you put blinders on the public's eyes."
State Rep. Bruce Smith, R-Dillsburg, a township supervisor during the 1979
partial meltdown at TMI and a critic of security there, said he has mixed
feelings about the NRC decision.
"I understand why the NRC would not want to reveal a weak point at a nuclear
power plant," Smith said. "At the same time, we in York County have two
plants we are concerned with.
"If Peach Bottom or TMI are guilty of lax enforcement, we should know and we
have a right to know, and I think the NRC is wrong in their decision," he
said.
Not concerned: But officials in the two York County municipalities closest
to the two nuclear plants were not concerned about the new policy.
George Knoll, chairman of the Newberry Township Board of Supervisors --
across the river from TMI -- said plant officials always keep the township
informed about safety and security at the plant and meet with township
officials twice a year.
"When there is any kind of event, regardless of how small or minor, we get
briefed," Knoll said.
In Peach Bottom Township, John Johnson, vice chairman of the board of
supervisors, agrees.
"I know a lot of people that work there, and I see the national guard and
state police presence there, so I feel quite comfortable that what they're
doing will protect the plant," Johnson said. "Try to drive down there
sometime and see what happens."
Pete Resler, spokesman for Exelon Nuclear, which owns TMI and Peach Bottom,
said the company will still be submitting the same reports it always has to
the NRC and has no opinion on the new policy .
"It has no impact on our reporting to the NRC," he said.
Reach R. Scott Rappold at 854-1575 or rsrappold@yorkdispatch.com .
TMI 'security zone' permanent
The U.S. Coast Guard has established a permanent "security zone" on the
Susquehanna River, which forbids boaters from coming within 100 feet of the
Three Mile Island nuclear power plant.
The decision, announced Monday in the Federal Register, makes permanent the
temporary boating ban, marked by lighted buoys, in place since July 2002
because of concerns terrorists could attack the plant with a boat-borne
bomb. The temporary zone expired July 31, and the permanent boating ban went
into effect Aug. 1.
According to the Coast Guard, violators could face fines of $32,500, among
other penalties. The ban will be enforced by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat
Commission.
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Date: Fri, 06 Aug 2004 14:59:18 -0700