Group Demands Reactor Upgrades

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@EARTHLINK.NET>]

Index:



Group Demands Reactor Upgrades

Russia: Terror Groups Scoped Nuke Site

Plane near Florida nuke plant carried drugs

Food irradiation stocks up on anthrax speculation

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Group Demands Reactor Upgrades

  

WASHINGTON (AP) - A group that has successfully sued on behalf of whistle-

blowers to highlight nuclear safety problems is making an urgent appeal to Homeland 

Security Director Tom Ridge to fortify American reactors against terrorist attacks. 



The National Whistleblower Center filed a petition with the Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission demanding several security upgrades to ``protect the public and 

environment from the catastrophic impact of a terrorist attack.'' 



``As the potential threat from international terrorism steadily increased over the 

years, the NRC took no action to address this growing threat,'' the center alleged in 

its action filed Wednesday. 



The group complained the government has known since the mid-1990s that terrorists 

wanted to strike a nuclear plant yet left in its public reading room a 1982 scientific 

report that detailed American reactors' vulnerabilities to a jetliner crash. 



The Associated Press disclosed the existence of the report Wednesday. It has been 

pulled from the reading room. 



``The simple truth is that the NRC has long since known that the design and 

construction of all of the nuclear power plants located within the United States does 

not come close to being able to withstand the impact of a large commercial jet,'' the 

suit said. 



In a separate letter to Ridge, the center's executive director Kris Kolesnik said the 

document was essentially a ``terrorist's handbook for duplicating the Sept. 11 attacks 

on a nuclear power plant or a spent fuel pool.'' 



``It's unfathomable that this information could be so readily available to the public,'' 

Kolesnik said. 



NRC spokesman Victor Dricks dismissed the criticism, saying no one in government 

anticipated the suicide hijackings that occurred Sept. 11 and that the agency has 

ordered numerous improvements at America's 103 nuclear plants since then to 

guard against terrorism. 



``We have people working around the clock for the last six weeks to do everything 

possible to ensure these plants are as safe as possible. All reasonable steps have 

been taken to supplement the security of all 103 operating plants,'' he said. 



The center has successfully represented whistle-blowers who have won awards for 

retaliation after highlighting potential security shortfalls at nuclear power plants. 



One of the whistle-blowers, Randy Robarge, who was fired from a nuclear plant job 

and has tried to highlight possible security weaknesses surrounding spent fuel 

storage areas, joined in the petition. The filing seeks no money but demands 

changes in nuclear plant security nationwide. 



Among the security improvements demanded by the center: 



Establishment of no-fly zones around every nuclear plant and every spent fuel 

storage facility. 



Fortification of containment walls that protect nuclear reactors to ensure they could 

withstand consecutive crashes of two large jetliners. 



A requirement that security guards who protect the spent fuel storage areas be 

armed with weapons, as guards who protect reactors are. 



Enhancements to the screening process for temporary and permanent security 

clearances for workers with access to nuclear plants. 



The center said foreign nationals can get temporary security clearances with a single 

photo ID, a credit check, one developed character reference, a request for an FBI 

background check and a one-year check of employment references. 



``The background screening of any foreign national must extend beyond an FBI 

criminal review and must also include a review of the criminal record which might 

have been created in any country in which the person was born or resided,'' the 

center's petition said. 

-----------------



Russia: Terror Groups Scoped Nuke Site

  

MOSCOW (AP) - Terrorist groups tried twice this year to conduct reconnaissance at 

Russian nuclear arms storage sites but were thwarted from taking any action, a 

senior general said Thursday. 



Col. Gen. Igor Volynkin, head of the department that oversees nuclear security in the 

Russian military, said the first attempt to stake out at a military storage site was eight 

months ago and the second was about six months ago. 



Volynkin, in remarks shown on Russian ORT television, did not say where the 

incidents took place or name the terrorist groups. 



He said both times the efforts were ``nipped in the bud'' and insisted that no one 

entered the territory of the military facilities. He did not say whether anyone had been 

arrested or charged. 



He said that after the reconnaissance attempts, Russia increased security at its 

munitions sites, then after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States still more 

personnel and weaponry were brought to the facilities. 



He insisted the storage facilities could withstand an air attack such as the ones that 

hit New York and Washington, but warned that a ground attack on the nuclear sites 

was possible. 



Russia has seen several terror attacks in recent years, including apartment hou

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Plane near Florida nuke plant carried drugs

  

CRYSTAL RIVER, Fla. (Reuters) - A small plane forced down by U.S. Air Force jets 

near a Florida nuclear plant was carrying drugs, police said Thursday. 



The single-engine Piper Arrow took off Tuesday afternoon from Melbourne, on the 

east coast of Florida, for a flight to Louisiana, Citrus County Sheriff's Office 

spokeswoman Ronda Evan said. 



After the plane went off course, the Federal Aviation Administration, on high alert 

following the Sept. 11 attacks, notified the Air Force, which sent two F-16 jets to 

intercept it and force it to land in Crystal River, about 70 miles north of Tampa. 



Crystal River is the site of a nuclear power plant operated by Florida Power Corp., a 

unit of Progress Energy. Security at U.S. nuclear plants has been increased since 

the Sept. 11 hijacking assaults on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. 



The Air Force notified the Citrus County Sheriff's Office and deputies met the plane 

when it landed, Evan said. 



"They found 65 pounds of marijuana," Evan said, worth an estimated $65,000. The 

pilot and a passenger, both from Melbourne, were arrested. 

----------------



Food irradiation stocks up on anthrax speculation

  

NEW YORK, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Stocks of food decontamination companies rallied 

further on Thursday on speculation the U.S. Postal Service could use their 

technology to kill anthrax spores in the mail, analysts said. 



Food Technology Service Inc. <VIFL.O>, which makes machines that irradiate food 

to kill bacteria, rose 8 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $4.78 in afternoon trading on the 

Nasdaq Stock Exchange. The stock was as high as $5.40 earlier in the day. 



Shares of Steris Corp. <STE.N>, which has facilities that decontaminate health, 

science and food products, were up 82 cents, or 3.7 percent, at $22.97 in afternoon 

trading on the New York Stock Exchange, their highest price since May 1999. Earlier 

in the day, shares were trading as high as $24.81. 



"There's some speculation that the same process can be used in the irradiation of 

mail," said McDonald Investments Inc. analyst Hans Von Der Luft. 



The U.S. mail recently has been used by unknown assailants to deliver anthrax-

tainted envelopes. Three people -- a Florida tabloid photo editor and two 

Washington-area postal workers -- have died and 10 others have been confirmed to 

have been infected. More than 30 people have been exposed to the bacteria. 



Thursday's gains follow a week of sharp rises by Food Technology and Steris 

shares. Since closing at $1.53 on Oct. 12, Food Technology has more than tripled, 

and since Oct. 18 Steris is up 26 percent. 



Shares of competitor Sure Beam Corp. <SURE.O>, recently spun off by Titan Corp. 

<TTN.N>, had surged 44 percent on Wednesday to close at $15.41. On Thursday, 

though, the stock lost ground, and was trading down $2.33, or 15.12 percent, at 

$13.08 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq. 



The process of irradiation involves blasting a product with a combination of X-Rays, 

Gamma-Rays and electrons to destroy bacteria and other contaminants, normally in 

food. 



"Anthrax spores are very resistant to chemical insult, but the one thing we know of 

that will destroy them is radiation," said Dr. Lawrence Kobilinsky, DNA expert and 

professor of forensic science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York 

City. He said that the process would also destroy smallpox or any of the other germs 

that many fear could be used in a biological attack. 



But Peter Ellis, retiring president and chief executive officer of Food Technology, said 

the process could be applied to mail. 



"The science is exactly the same," Ellis told Reuters on Thursday, and he said that it 

would be able to kill anthrax spores as well as it kills E. coli and salmonella bacteria. 



But it is not clear how the process can be implemented practically in treating mail, 

because the irradiation procedures requires large facilities and expertise. 



"There's a lot of speculation on these stocks and investors should be cautious," Von 

Der Luft said. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sandy Perle				Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   

Director, Technical			Extension 2306

ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Service	Fax:(714) 668-3149 	           

ICN Pharmaceuticals, Inc.		E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net

ICN Plaza, 3300 Hyland Avenue  	E-Mail: sperle@icnpharm.com   

Costa Mesa, CA 92626                    



Personal Website: http://sandyfl.nukeworker.net

ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com





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