[cdn-nucl-l] Bush says terrorists had nuclear plant plans

[Tom Adams <TomAdams@nextcity.com>]

Press release from the Nuclear Control Institute, Washington

  For Immediate Release:                                CONTACT: Paul
Leventhal, Steve Dolley
  Wednesday, January 30, 2002
202-822-8444; nci@nci.org


              PRESIDENT SAYS TERRORISTS HAD DIAGRAMS
                       OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS;

               NRC MUST MOVE NOW ON MAJOR UPGRADE
                       OF SECURITY AGAINST ATTACK

     Washington, D.C.---Last night, President Bush disclosed that
"diagrams of American nuclear
  power plants" have been found among the items left by terrorists in
Afghanistan, but he failed to
  announce what measures he will take to prevent these and other plants
from being successfully hit,
  said Paul Leventhal, president of the Nuclear Control Institute.

     "Unfortunately, neither the White House nor the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) have
  taken protective measures commensurate with the threat or with the
unthinkable consequences of a
  successful attack on one of these plants," Leventhal continued. "These
plants are vulnerable today, and
  that is intolerable."

     "U.S. nuclear power plants need immediate military protection---the
placement of National Guard
  troops or other military forces in sufficient numbers to provide a
visible show of force and a credible
  deterrent against attack from the land, air or water," Leventhal said.
"Anti-aircraft weapons, under
  strict rules of engagement and command and control, are also needed as
a last-resort measure in the
  event fighter interceptors cannot catch up with a jumbo jet headed for
a suicidal hit on a plant," he
  said.

     For months, the NRC has been conducting a "top to bottom" review of
its security procedures but
  so far has failed to take any action----beyond the original heightened
state of alert it requested of plant
  operators on September 11---to require the substantially increased
security that is needed now to
  defeat a large, coordinated attack on a scale of the 9/11 attacks.
Thus far, nuclear power plants have
  assigned some additional guards and patrols, often by having guards
work double shifts, and have
  made use of a few state troopers and National Guard troops.  In a
number of states, the National
  Guard troops have since been withdrawn.  Despite industry claims that
the plants are protected by
  "well-paid, paramilitary forces," the guards at some plants are
"rent-a-cops" receiving low wages, in
  some cases less than janitors are paid in these plants.

     He noted that current law and regulations do not require the
private operators of these plants to
  defend against "an enemy of the United States," whether a nation or a
person. "It should be obvious,"
  Leventhal said, "that the U.S. government must step in with military
protection or it must be prepared
  to shut the plants down. Allowing the plants to continue operating
with inadequate security, in some
  cases only tens of miles from major cities like New York,
Philadelphia, Cleveland, Chicago, Charlotte
  and Los Angeles, is unconscionable. Millions of people are at risk in
the event of a successful attack
  causing severe damage to the reactor core or spent fuel pool at these
plants."

     Nuclear Control Institute presented a detailed critique of the poor
state of nuclear power plant
  security in testimony, presented jointly with the California-based
Committee to Bridge the Gap, on
  December 5 before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce
Subcommittee on Oversight and
  Investigations [http://www.nci.org/01NCI/12/react-prot.htm].  A new
NCI website on nuclear terrorism
  [http://www.nci.org/nuketerror.htm] presents additional documents on
NCI's 20-year effort to upgrade
  security at these plants and to reduce other vulnerabilities to
terrorists going nuclear.

     Due to the NRC's inaction in the face of a real and growing threat,
Senators Reid, Lieberman and
  Clinton and Representatives Markey and Lowey have introduced
legislation which requires an
  increase in security to meet the new threat and also federalizes the
nuclear plant security forces.
  [http://www.house.gov/markey/iss_terrorism_bill011129.pdf]

     Over the past few years, about half of the nuclear power plants
have failed mock terrorist attacks
  in drills supervised by the  NRC. In spite of this poor record against
a much smaller adversary than the
  one encountered on September 11, the NRC has taken steps to transfer
supervision of these tests to
  the nuclear industry, a move that will further reduce security
preparedness. Despite a need to
  demonstrate increased preparedness since September 11, the NRC has
suspended the tests involving
  mock attacks, as well as tests of emergency planning around nuclear
power plants,  and has given no
  indication when these tests will be reinstated.

     The Indian Point nuclear power plant, located just 35 miles north
of mid-town Manhattan, has 20
  million people living within a 50 mile radius of the plant. "A core
meltdown caused by a terrorist attack
  on the Indian Point plant could cause tens of thousands of cancer
deaths and property losses of more
  than a trillion dollars. "By comparison, the $1 billion a month cited
by the President as the cost of the
  war against terrorism in Afghanistan is peanuts," Leventhal said.  NCI
is the principal co-petitioner
  with the Hudson Riverkeeper in a request that the NRC shut down the
Indian Point plant until a major
  upgrade in security at the plant has been developed and successfully
tested.

  NCI