NRC: Fighting off terrorism not our job
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission today approved a new plan for defending nuclear plants against terrorist attacks that concluded it's "impractical" for plant operators to try to stop an airborne attack against a nuclear reactor. Impractical?
That's not to say terrorism doesn't pose a major risk to nuclear plants, particularly those with Oyster Creek's dated design. But the NRC says it's not its job to prevent terrorist attacks that use airplanes as a weapon or attacks that use rocket-propelled grenades or other weapons frequently used by terrorists in the Middle East.
The NRC maintains that nuclear plants' defense plans should require what is "reasonable" to be expected of a civilian security force. They define reasonable as being capable of fighting off a small band of terrorists using limited weaponry.
It's totally unreasonable to approve nuclear plant license renewals, and to allow nuclear plants to continue operating, if SOMEONE isn't responsible for guarding against airborne attacks. The good folks fighting license renewal at Oyster Creek, and the state of New Jersey, must continue to press for legislation requiring that nuclear plants be adequately protected from terrorism.
That's not to say terrorism doesn't pose a major risk to nuclear plants, particularly those with Oyster Creek's dated design. But the NRC says it's not its job to prevent terrorist attacks that use airplanes as a weapon or attacks that use rocket-propelled grenades or other weapons frequently used by terrorists in the Middle East.
The NRC maintains that nuclear plants' defense plans should require what is "reasonable" to be expected of a civilian security force. They define reasonable as being capable of fighting off a small band of terrorists using limited weaponry.
It's totally unreasonable to approve nuclear plant license renewals, and to allow nuclear plants to continue operating, if SOMEONE isn't responsible for guarding against airborne attacks. The good folks fighting license renewal at Oyster Creek, and the state of New Jersey, must continue to press for legislation requiring that nuclear plants be adequately protected from terrorism.
posted by Randy Bergmann at 2:59 PM
3 Comments:
The NRC has always been willing to explore any ideas about any subject that is related to nuclear safety. But if a hundred ideas are explored, most of them will be rejected because they are impractical. That is the nature of exploration. One example is the shifting of national defense responsibilities to the owners of utilities, tall buildings or manufacturers. It is clear that terrorists like to kill a lot of people immediately by attacking buildings. When the airplanes hit the World Trade Center, that was the second attack on that tall building. There are many other examples. Perhaps nuclear utilities should use the same air defense methods that the owners of tall buildings use.
It is absurd for an editor to claim that it is not somebody's responsibility for guarding against airborne attacks. That is clearly a federal national defense responsibilty, as it has always been. It is hard for me to believe that anybody who was awake in high school does not understand that.
Don:
Who said it was "not somebody's responsibility" for guarding against airborne attacks. I said it WAS someone's - and not just the military's. There are things the industry can do to fortify plants against such attacks, particularly attacks on vulnerable spent fuel pools. But the NRC won't do anything to interfere with the profitability of the industry. Neither will the Bush administration.
Randy,
Perhaps you should read what you write. You even put SOMEONE in all caps. Your comment that "the NRC won't do anything to interfere with the profitability of the industry" indicates that your are amaziningly ignorant or dishonest. The industry has fortified plants against all manner of attacks. That is on top of protection that was already substantial. That is the reason why your terrorist allies have not responsed to your repeated calls for air strikes against nuclear power plants. They know that they have plenty of other softer targets that have real probabilities of success.
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