RE: The Nation article on nuke plant security

[Scott Flowerday <Scott.Flowerday@TDH.STATE.TX.US>]

Norman,

 

The reason that this is trash is pretty self-explanatory and you know it as

well as anyone else on the list - but just in case you really aren't bright

enough to figure it out I have addressed the several points POGO made within

the article.  You were posting to try to "stir the pot"  and cheap

thoughtless trash like this is nothing more than propaganda intended to

scare people.  No matter what your feelings are about nuclear power you and

other anti-nuclear activists should exercise a little more integrity than

this.  Should people be scared of terrorism?  Yes, I think most Americans

know this.  Do we want to turn our country into a military state, set

curfews, take away handguns and rifles, issue mandatory identification

cards, require authorization for travel and give up our personal freedoms to

ensure our safety against such attacks?  I don't and I would wager that you

don't either.  At least nuclear power does have some security.  Is it

perfect?  No.  Will it ever be?  No.  

 

I consider this article to be trash based on the following points:

 

"Ever since President George Bush announced that Al Qaeda has been 

   scheming to attack our nuclear power plants, the industry has 

   proclaimed itself ready--with full-page ads in newspapers and 

   magazines talking up its investment in the hiring and maintaining 

   of crack security forces. "

 

I would guess the above paragraph is true, why are they putting ads in the

paper?  Because trash like this is attempting to scare people rather than

address real issues.  It is a responsible act to try to counter some of the

garbage like this that gets printed and I applaud the plants for posting

adds.

 

"THE REALITY, as described in Brian's testimony: "Many guard 

   forces around the country are equipped only with shotguns and 

   revolvers.... Contrary to the full-page ads in the Washington 

   Post and other newspapers, they do not normally wear flak jackets 

   or their communications gear, nor do they carry their 

   semiautomatic weapons. Sometimes, the guards are more than a 

   football field's distance away from their weapons and flak 

   jackets.... At one-third of nuclear power plants, the guards only 

   have access to shotguns, and they are locked up at a central 

   location. In case of a [terrorist] attack, the guards would have 

   to go to that location, unlock the cabinet, get their shotguns 

   and protective gear, and return to their post. By that time, the 

   terrorists would have achieved their goals and caused 

   catastrophic damage." "

 

The reality is that they do have weapons, flak jackets and other security

systems (that they probably don't share with POGO).  Have we installed

anti-aircraft batteries on top of high rises?  Do we compare the security

here to other more hazardous industries such as the chemical industry?  Do

we have this type of protection at our local water treatment plant?  If POGO

was serious and not just bashing an industry that already has high standards

they would address these problems first.

 

"THE REALITY as per POGO: "Two guards quit after two months on the 

   job believing they couldn't protect the plant in the case of a 

   terrorist attack. They told POGO, and other guards have admitted 

   to NRC inspectors, that their training is so inadequate, in the 

   face of a real terrorist attack, many guards would use their guns 

   simply to protect themselves while they escaped from the plant." "

 

Gee, could this be real?  People scared of terrorists?  Is your local police

force able to protect you from a terrorist attack?  Were the Port Authority

Police in New York poorly trained because they didn't prevent the terrorist

attacks on the World Trade Center buildings?  Can we train these folks to

shoot down aircraft or stop car bombs?  No, these are military type attacks

against a civilian population, last I checked this was an act of war.  I

spend tax dollars so that the federal government can maintain a military to

protect us in times of war, if we don't need the military for this perhaps

our tax dollars are misdirected. 

 

"THE REALITY as per POGO: "Currently, security guards who are 

   risking their lives are among...the lowest compensated employees 

   at many plants. Also, people working at nuclear power plants, 

   including NRC [Nuclear Regulatory Commission] and utility 

   employees as well as contractor and subcontractor employees, 

   should be given whistleblower protections. In the current climate 

   of fear and whistleblower retaliation, it has been our experience 

   that people have been deterred from coming forward with important 

   information that could help fix security problems." "

 

Low compensation?  I bet almost every one of these folks makes more money

than the military enlisted personnel that were sent to Afghanistan.  How

does the pay compare to police or firemen?  The pay here in Austin is low

for both police and firemen.  How does the pay compare to the gate guard at

the chemical plants?  Last I checked all Federal Employees have

whistleblower protection, is the NRC no longer a Federal Agency?  Does POGO

have any standard for truth?

 

"THE REALITY as per POGO: "Security forces do not have enough 

   authority to carry out their mission. Currently, guards are 

   prohibited from using deadly force unless an intruder wields a 

   gun, or they feel their life or the life of someone else is in 

   imminent danger...In other words, if an attacker jumps over the 

   fence with a backpack and runs towards the reactor building or 

   spent fuel pool, the guard can only attempt to chase down the 

   attacker. We have been told of an instance when an NRC inspector 

   observed a guard follow a mock terrorist during a force-on-force 

   drill as he destroyed critical target sets in the reactor 

   complex. When asked why he wasn't doing anything to stop him, the 

   guard explained that he didn't have the authority to shoot an 

   intruder who was only destroying property." "

 

Sure, security should have more authority than law enforcement to use lethal

force.  Did POGO check to see when deadly force is authorized by law

enforcement?  We should definitely start shooting first and asking questions

later.  Perhaps we should shoot those anti-nuclear activists outside the

gates first as they might have backpacks and could bolt toward the fence at

any moment.

 

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission is supposed to be looking 

   over the industry's shoulder. So one would have expected NRC 

   chairman Richard Meserve to have something to say about all of 

   this. Yet as he testified June 5, Meserve hardly struck the pose 

   of an indignant reformer. On the contrary: He backed the status 

   quo and argued against federalizing nuclear plant security on the 

   grounds that it addressed "a nonexistent problem." 

   Instead, the NRC chairman urged senators to think about the 

   larger issue of security for all dangerous infrastructure, 

   including chemical plants, oil refineries and dams--and the cost 

   of that overall security to society. "We have limited assets we 

   need to spend on security," he pointed out. Senators stared back, 

   bug-eyed. (After all, think about it: Your agency's fiefdom is 

   singled out in the President's State of the Union address as 

   targeted by formidable terrorists; you're at a Congressional 

   hearing where others are testifying that you are probably not 

   ready for this challenge; and your offhand reply is roughly: 

   Yeah, but what about the dams?) 



   New York's Hillary Clinton suggested the nation's top nuclear 

   regulator worry less about balancing some macrobudget for all of 

   America's energy security needs, and more about good nuclear 

   security. California's Barbara Boxer expressed similar 

   consternation. At one point, she asked Meserve, "Why don't you 

   want to be a model for safety?" Good question.



Lets see....since when is the NRC supposed to be a law enforcement or

military organization?  Do they oversee operation of nuclear power

facilities?  Yes.  Does nuclear power have a better safety record than any

other industry including the airlines industry?  Yes.  Is nuclear power a

model for safety?  Yes.  Is Hillary Clinton always bug-eyed?  Yes.  Would

the NRC do more about security if they were given the mandate and funding

and personnel to do that?  Yes.  Can Chairman Meserve authorize his own

increase in budget to do this?  No.  Whose job is that?  Hillary's and

Barbara's.



The views expressed in this e-mail are entirely my own.



 



Scott Flowerday



 

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