Posted on 04/30/2003 4:41:16 PM PDT by freeperfromnj
Nuclear Power Plant Alert
April 30 — The FBI is warning law enforcement officials around the country to be on the lookout for potential terrorist activity around nuclear power plants.
In its weekly intelligence bulletin to 18,000 police agencies, the FBI says law enforcers should be on the lookout for any suspicious activity around the power plants, including people photographing the facilities and small planes flying in the area. Nuclear plants "are a vulnerability target which could have certain consequences" if attacked, one official said.
The bulletin does not mention a specific threat.
Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has assured the public the 103 nuclear plants across the country are protected from terrorists, although the agency declined to specify how they are protected.
Power plants and other pieces of public infrastructure such as tunnels, bridges and railroads have long been considered potential terrorist targets, and many experts consider nuclear plants the prime target.
New Security Measures for Nuke Plants
Today's bulletin came the day after federal regulators imposed tougher security measures on nuclear plants, including more training for private guards and limits on guards' work hours.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a formal regulation Tuesday that broadened the type of armed attack that nuclear power plant operators and their private security guards must be prepared to defend against.
Details of the new security measures were classified, but the NRC officials said they require power plants "to implement additional protective actions to protect against sabotage by terrorists and other adversaries." Security at nuclear power plants was enhanced by an interim NRC order a year ago amid concern that terrorists might be targeting nuclear reactors.
If the improbable happened and terrorists managed to attack and penetrate a nuclear reactor core at a plant, it could trigger an explosive meltdown that could spread radiation for hundreds of miles and trigger lethal health problems, if not immediate death among large populations.
An undercover intruder could wreak similar havoc by sabotaging a plant from the inside.
The ones I worked at had multiple 12' chain link fences with razor wire and dogs in between, as well as roving guards with M-16s.
Must be a slow news day...
Watch for more of them in coming weeks as reporters try to help her win the nomination.
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