January
27, 2003
Attorney General Roy Cooper
State of North Carolina
Subject: More federal failures to protect nuclear
power plants … your action required
Dear Attorney General Cooper:
Various developments this month further indicate the federal
government’s inability to protect the nation’s nuclear power plants from potential terrorism. This amplifies
the need for you to seek an injunction against the import of high-level waste fuel to Shearon Harris, and to require
hardened, dispersed storage of waste fuel – to replace high-density cooling pools – at all nuclear plants operated by
Duke Energy and Progress Energy.
- The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s own
Inspector General reported that the agency allowed the Davis Besse plant to continue operating with serious
known hazards in order to accommodate the financial concerns of plant owner FirstEnergy. This resulted
in a highly publicized hole in the reactor vessel that very nearly led to a disastrous meltdown of the reactor
core.
- The NRC ruled that the threat of terrorism cannot be considered when
licensing reactors, saying the risk is “too
speculative.” The agency has long acknowledged
the potential for sabotage, but claims it is too difficult to incorporate the risk into probability assessments.
As you know, the NRC refused to consider terrorism prior to rubber-stamping the Shearon Harris waste pool
expansion in 2001.
- An NRC survey found that a third of
NRC workers question the agency's commitment to public safety and nearly half believe it's not "safe to speak
up" about their concerns.
- A report commissioned by Indian Point’s owner (and leaked to a watchdog group)
concluded that: A majority of the security guards do not believe they could defend against an attack;
half the security force is physically unfit; and critical security equipment is defective. This led Rep.
Edward Markey to state, "The NRC has a responsibility to the public to assure that the safety and security
of this sensitive facility is not sacrificed to corporate executives more interested in maximizing profits ..."
- Last month, in an address to the Brookings
Institution, Sen. John Edwards again warned of the very real threat to nuclear facilities. However, he once
again excluded mention of the greatest risk at each plant – high-density waste pools – and his proposed
remedy constitutes additional guards and guns, as favored by the Bush Administration and nuclear industry.
Security experts insist that this approach does not significantly upgrade a plant’s defense against potential
attacks.
Attorney General Cooper, surely you would not leave
North Carolina’s public safety in the hands of the pro-industry NRC. I trust that since NC WARN’s letter of
December 18th, you now realize that in fact, the State Constitution forbids you to cede your
authority over state-chartered corporations to the federal NRC.
Every serious observer, including yourself and 26 other state attorney’s general, have
identified the waste pools as the most dangerous potential target at each nuclear plant. The NRC and
federal elected officials continue to acknowledge the serious risks of nuclear terrorism, but like the industry
itself, they refuse to even mention the waste pools. Thus, they
refuse to even consider feasible measures that would minimize the risks of a catastrophic fire, which would almost
certainly occur if a waste pool loses water.
Thousands of citizens are calling for you to exercise
your policing duty over Progress Energy. Please stop the unnecessary transport and high-density storage of
waste fuel rods. North Carolina needs your leadership now.
Sincerely,
Jim Warren
Executive Director
cc: Sen. John Edwards, other public officials
