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US Nuclear Plant Guards
Said Overworked, Undertrained

9-12-2

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.
 
Copyright © 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.





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