Citizens groups from both sides of the Cape Cod Canal have sent a petition to federal officials saying security at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station should be tightened or the plant should be shut down.
"This petition is filed shortly after both the anniversary of 9/11 and President Obama's Sept. 10 speech that told the nation that ISIL threatened the homeland," the petition says. "Reactors have symbolic value and the capability of enormous destruction. Pilgrim is a symbolic target because it is located in America's Hometown."
The Cape Downwinders and Pilgrim Watch, which have both called for closing the plant, cited 15 incidents of trespassing on the Plymouth plant property since 2002 that have been documented in the news or police logs.
"There were probably even more," said Mary Lampert, founder and executive director of Pilgrim Watch.
The petition was filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Lampert, who has submitted numerous petitions to the NRC over the last several years, said it's important to continue to highlight concerns about the Pilgrim plant.
"It gets the conversation on the burner," she said.
Ten of the trespassing incidents on the list happened during the last three years, the nuclear watchdogs said.
The petition claims plant security has eroded.
"The guard house is unmanned and there is no visible security personnel around the perimeter of the owner-controlled areas," states the petition. "People can and do enter the owner-controlled area without a problem or detection."
Three of the excursions onto the power plant property happened just in the last month, according to Plymouth police logs.
On Sept. 11, a man and woman from Connecticut were spotted by security in a back parking lot. The pair said they were looking for the beach. Both were arrested for trespassing by Plymouth police. The woman was also charged with drug possession.
On Sept. 2, two men from Canada were arrested on the property. They said they were looking for a place to fish.
On Aug. 31, two men from New Hampshire, who said they were looking for a path to the waterfront, were arrested for trespassing.
On Aug. 21, an incident involved two members of Cape Downwinders who were being filmed by a Boston news station. Diane Turco and William Maurer, following the interview, walked down the plant driveway and into a building. They left the building after spending several minutes there unchallenged and returned to the news truck where they found two plant guards checking out the vehicle and crew, according to the account written by the Downwinders. They were not arrested.
Entergy, the owner-operator of the Plymouth reactor meanwhile argues the plant is secure.
Spokesman Jerry Nappi said trespassers may have wandered onto the reactor property, but they were outside security areas.
"Employees, tradesmen, the postal service and others go across the owner-controlled area, which is the outermost area, to get to the next layer," Nappi said. "You enter a building where you place your hand on a piece of equipment. If there's a match, the gate opens."
"We have intrusion detectors, fences and vehicle barriers along the border between the outer area and the next layer."
Beyond the outer area, the plant has graduated areas of security laid out in three circles around the reactor, Nappi said.
Lampert disagreed with Nappi's characterization of the outer area as being less of a concern.
"With today's weapons, the closer you get to the protected area the more accurate you'll be," she said.
"You could cause serious damage."
Lampert said if a team of trained terrorists launched an attack by land and water, "we'd probably be cooked." But if an attack were being planned by an individual, security guards posted on the outer area of the property and in the guardhouse could be a deterrent.
Lampert contends Entergy may have made a financial or public relations decision to cut security.
"If you have visible guards, it's not good PR," Lampert said. "You're telling the public, 'Gee, something could go wrong here.'"
But Nappi said security at the plant has been beefed up, not stripped down.
"Security personnel has remained stable, and there have been significant advancement in detection and protective measures."
Neil Sheehan, spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said plant owners are given somewhat of a free hand regarding security.
"We want to give them flexibility with their security programs," Sheehan said. "They may allocate a security officer who would be in a guardhouse to a better location."
Sheehan said the petition will be referred to one of the NRC's directors.
"In this case, it would likely be the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, though it could be the Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response," Sheehan said.
Follow Christine Legere on Twitter: @chrislegereCCT.
No comments:
Post a Comment