Case Settled Over Security Breaches at Nuclear Plants

 Blackballed Security Official Wins Against Progress Energy

DURHAM, NC – After losing a federal appeal, Progress Energy has settled a six-figure lawsuit by a former high-ranking official who was fired for refusing to lie to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) about a series of security breaches involving the company’s nuclear power plants.

 Richard Kester, a decorated Vietnam war veteran and 18-year specialist in nuclear security, was head of the unit at CP&L (now named Progress Energy) that grants security clearances for the company’s three plants.  In 1999, he found that background checks had been falsified, clearing several employees for unescorted access to the Shearon Harris and H.R. Robinson facilities.  The problem was compounded when another employee in the department failed to withdraw the clearances for several days. 

 A similar string of security breakdowns had occurred at the Harris plant in 1997, when four people worked in the plant for up to a month despite one having criminal convictions and three others failing psychological evaluations.  Fourteen other workers gained access before qualifying for security clearance.  The NRC fined CP&L $55,000 at that time, but did not levy a penalty in the 1999 case.

 NC WARN learned that two U.S. Dept. of Labor appeals judges noted the gravity of the latter infractions, writing that Kester’s unit “was the first line of defense in protecting CP&L’s nuclear plants from persons lacking authorized access.”   Every 18 months, reactors are shut down several weeks for refueling, requiring expeditious background investigations for hundreds of temporary contract workers. 

 After learning that his supervisor, Bob Gill, intended to force Kester to take the blame in order to avoid being fired himself, Kester reported the situation to higher-ranking company officials.  His goal was to ensure that he could speak truthfully to an NRC investigator about the failures without fear of reprisals.  But the officials did not protect Kester’s confidentiality, and a senior corporate officer, William Johnson, fired the veteran upon his return from medical leave.   

 In addition to losing his job, Kester was blackballed from the nuclear industry and forced to work as a security guard for a third of his former salary.  He sued CP&L/Progress for more than $150,000 under the Energy Reorganization Act, which prohibits retaliatory action against employees reporting internal problems.

 Late last year the appeals court, part of the U.S. Department of Labor, reversed an administrative law judge’s ruling against Kester.  Progress chose to settle the case with Kester, who was represented by Stewart Fisher of the Durham law firm Glenn, Mills and Fisher.  The parties agreed in the settlement not to discuss the case; NC WARN learned of it through public records:  http://www.oalj.dol.gov/public/wblower/decsn/00era31b.htm

NC WARN Executive Director Jim Warren said today, “As bad as the recurring security breaches are, it’s equally disturbing that corporate officials slammed the whistleblower.  Such a culture is sure to have a chilling effect on other employees concerned about safety – to see the head of a department get fired and his career destroyed.”   A number of governmental and security officials have warned that nuclear plants are prime targets for terrorism, and critics complain the Bush administration has refused to mandate measures to defend them.