article in Atlanta newspaper on nuke's vulnurable to terrorists

[Norman Cohen <ncohen12@HOME.COM>]

> OTHER OPINION:

> Tim Zink- For the Journal-Constitution

> Sunday, October 21, 2001

>

> After emerging unscathed from the Cold War, when nuclear annihilation

> was the ultimate possible consequence, the nuclear specter has again

> closed on us. Terrorists, our opponents in this newest war, have the

> capability to launch a nuclear attack on American soil, so long as the

> perimeters of domestic nuclear reactor sites remain chronically

> porous.

>

> The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has in recent years attempted

> to move away from a highly effective security evaluation program known

> as Operational Safeguards Response Evaluations, in which teams

> simulating armed attacks attempt to penetrate reactor sites.

>

> A former U.S. Navy SEAL and NRC contractor, Capt. David Orrick, ran

> the OSRE program. Orrick's teams often were able to compromise

> sensitive areas within reactor sites --- sometimes gaining access to

> plants' control rooms --- even though the managers of the sites

> frequently were notified in advance of coming evaluations.

>

> Despite the proven ability of OSRE to expose weaknesses in reactor

> fortifications, the NRC in 1998 canceled the program. After apparently

> learning of the cancellation from media sources, NRC Director Richard

> Meserve reinstated OSRE, but the commission subsequently announced it

> would this fall start a pilot program under which the operators of

> reactor sites would essentially police themselves.

>

> The move drew criticism from nuclear watchdog groups and Orrick

> himself. Orrick wrote in 1999, "In effect, it [OSRE] is the only

> program NRC has that directly focuses on the terrorist threat against

> nuclear power plants --- significant weaknesses were identified in 27

> of 57 plants (or 47 percent) evaluated to date. 'Significant' here

> means a real attack would have put the reactor in jeopardy with the

> potential for core damage and a radioactive release, i.e., an American

> Chernobyl." These results came after the average plant used 82 percent

> more armed defenders in the simulated attack than they commit to using

> in the event of a real attack.

>

> Very few other potential terrorist operations could match the sheer

> destructive potential of a strike on a domestic nuclear reactor. After

> being considered unlikely targets for years because of a perceived

> unwillingness on the part of terrorists to kill extremely large

> numbers of civilians, the events of Sept. 11 forced an immediate

> re-evaluation of reactors' strategic importance.

>

> As Congress crafts nuclear-specific measures as part of larger

> anti-terrorism legislation, guaranteeing the future of OSRE should be

> a priority. The project comes with a relatively low price tag --- its

> total operating budget is slightly more than $100,000 --- and is

> consistent with other recent congressional actions to bolster nuclear

> security.

>

> The U.S. House of Representatives recently proposed extending laws

> prohibiting nuclear sabotage to include nuclear waste fabrication,

> treatment and disposal facilities. By extending these laws, legal

> protections would be bolstered should any aspect of the nuclear

> handling process come under attack.

>

> The House also approved an amendment to study nuclear plants' design

> vulnerabilities and possible protection measures. If made law, the

> results of this analysis would be due back to Congress within 90 days

> of enactment, presumably to provide the basis for future, more

> stringent anti-terror measures.

>

> Stronger action still needs to be taken now. Several measures to be

> debated could quickly elevate our national nuclear security.

>

> Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) has submitted legislation to take the

> design-vulnerabilities study steps further, guaranteeing revisions to

> NRC standards within one year of enactment. This revision would be

> done in consultation with the defense secretary; directors of the

> Central Intelligence Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation and

> Homeland Security; the national security adviser and others, including

> the public, before completion.

>

> Other voices within Congress have called for the protection of reactor

> sites nationwide by National Guard troops. New York Gov. George Pataki

> dispatched guardsmen this month to the state's nuclear power plants,

> and troops have been in place at selected installations in New Jersey

> since the Sept. 11 attacks. The decision to use National Guard troops

> remains up to individual states, however, and many, including Georgia,

> have chosen not to use them for plant protection.

>

> Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, spurred by a Sept. 13 incident in which an

> unidentified airplane swooped close to a nuclear power station,

> recently urged federal officials to create no-fly zones around U.S.

> reactors. The Federal Aviation Administration responded with a warning

> that these zones would allow terrorists to pinpoint the exact location

> of every plant in the country.

>

> The locations of U.S. nuclear power plants are in no way secret,

> however, and recent events have transformed these plants into

> installations of fundamental military importance, in terms of their

> basic threat to American lives. The use of National Guard troops and

> no-fly zones to protect nuclear installments is now simply necessary,

> and will be well into the

> future.http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/epaper/editions/sunday/opinion_b32dd47c81b5a07310d0.html

>

>

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