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nuke guards undertrained; overworked







Daniel Wolff wrote:



> September 12, 2002

>

> U.S. Nuclear Guards Said Overworked, Undertrained

>

> By REUTERS

>

> Filed at 0:08 a.m. ET

>

> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Guards at the nation's 103 nuclear power plants

> are overworked, undertrained and outgunned and some of them doubt they

> could repel a terrorist attack, a study by a government watchdog group

> said on Thursday.

>

> Interviews with 22 guards at 13 U.S. nuclear power plants revealed

> many had doubts about preparedness and training, the Project on

> Government Oversight reported.

>

> The chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), which is

> rethinking industry security guidelines in the wake of last year's

> deadly attacks on Washington and New York, criticized the study for

> relying on ``a very thin sample'' of the 6,000 guards posted at U.S.

> nuclear plants.

>

> Almost a year to the day after the attacks, the NRC on Tuesday advised

> nuclear plant operators to boost their security levels after the

> government issued a general alert for a possible terrorist attack.

>

> Al Qaeda, the Islamic extremist network Washington blames for the

> hijack attacks, may have singled out U.S. nuclear power plants as a

> possible target.

>

> ``It is prudent to assume that al Qaeda may consider nuclear

> facilities as potential targets,'' NRC Chairman Richard Meserve said

> at an industry event on Wednesday.

>

> The non-profit watchdog group said it found nuclear plant owners have

> ordered only minimal increases in the number of guards, and are

> relying heavily on overtime for existing guards rather than hiring new

> ones.

>

> Some guards interviewed by the advocacy group said they worked 12-hour

> shifts for up to six consecutive days. Most guards interviewed

> ``believe that they are still below adequate levels to defeat a real

> terrorist attack,'' the group said.

>

> ``If an attack took place, most of the guards would run like hell,''

> one guard told the group in an interview.

>

> Guards said they were plagued by fatigue during long and tedious night

> shifts. ``There's a major problem with guards sleeping, especially on

> the night shift,'' one guard said.

>

> GUARDS WORKING 'EXTENSIVE OVERTIME'

>

> Meserve acknowledged that some U.S. utilities have used ``extensive

> overtime'' to maintain security while they carry out ``extensive new

> hiring'' of guards as part of a post-Sept. 11 push to boost security.

>

> With a total of 6,000 guards at U.S. nuclear facilities, the report

> used ``a very thin sample in which to draw very profound

> conclusions,'' Meserve told reporters.

>

> ``The security at nuclear plants is very strong and the plants have

> the inherent capacity to withstand severe events of all types

> including those that might be attempted by terrorists,'' Meserve said.

>

> The Project for Government Oversight defended its report.

>

> ``The vast majority of the concerns the guards raise ring absolutely

> true,'' said researcher Pete Stockton. ``They believe they don't have

> a chance'' against an attack, he said.

>

> The Nuclear Energy Institute, an industry lobby, called the report

> ``an insult to the 6,000 highly trained, well-armed security

> officers'' defending nuclear plants.

>

> Most guards interviewed by the advocacy group said they practice

> firing their weapons only once or twice a year during annual

> qualification tests, far less than the time necessary to become and

> remain proficient, the report said.

>

> Guards also told the group they did not feel adequately equipped to

> deal with attackers. Many guards have only shotguns while attackers

> would likely be armed with sophisticated assault rifles, grenades and

> automatic weapons, Stockton said.

>

> In the event of an attack, plant guards ``would be seriously

> outgunned, and won't have a chance,'' one told the group.

>

> Some Democrats have sought to impose tougher security at nuclear power

> plants. ``Nuclear power plants are at the very top of the target list

> and their security must be permanently upgraded,'' said Rep. Edward

> Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat backing legislation to give guards

> authority to use deadly force against attackers.

>

>

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