PO Box 61051 Durham, NC 27715-1051 Phone: (919) 416-5077 Fax: (919) 286-3985 ncwarn@ncwarn.org www.ncwarn.org

Waste Awareness and Reduction Network NC WARN

NEWS RELEASE Contact: Jim Warren 919-416-5077

January 20, 2006 Pete MacDowell 919-968-9184

Attorney General Dodging Nuclear Security Failure, Group Says

Federal Investigations Widen At Shearon Harris, With More Allegations by Guards

DURHAM, NC – An environmental watchdog group is pressing state Attorney General Roy Cooper to fill serious gaps involving investigations into security failures at the Shearon Harris nuclear power plant. The group also questioned whether Cooper is avoiding the issue because it involves a local corporate giant, and said continuing reports from the plant indicate the scandal is widening as more guards reveal security problems.

In a sharply worded letter sent to Cooper yesterday, the NC Waste Awareness & Reduction Network, or NC WARN, spelled out various state duties regarding regulatory and criminal investigations in the security failure. They describe a gap in jurisdictions and appropriate oversight that led to some Harris security doors remaining unrepaired for weeks after the complaint was widely publicized last month, and said Cooper has ultimate responsibility for that mistake.

Since the complaint was filed December 13^th by NC WARN and Union of Concerned Scientists, NC WARN has repeatedly urged Cooper to coordinate various agencies’ roles. Federal officials have acknowledged jurisdictional uncertainties, and agree that the state has a range of responsibilities, but U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials leading their investigations said they haven’t heard from Cooper’s office.

After earlier denying all the security allegations, which came from on reports from a whistle-blowing guard and were confirmed by others, Progress Energy admitted to The News & Observer that a guard reported being fired while on patrol in August, and that Harris had “some malfunctioning door locks.” But last week, Harris guards reported that some security doors still were unsecured at night. They told NC WARN again this week that more guards are telling NRC investigators about unsecured doors, security gates, equipment checkpoints, and guards being punished for reporting continuing security failures and injuries.

NC WARN says that while it has confidence in the NRC officials conducting the investigation, the NRC itself has a long history of being very friendly with the industry on public safety issues. “It is Roy Cooper’s job, as the state’s top law enforcement and public safety official, to guarantee the plant is protected against intruders when Progress Energy and the NRC fail to do so,” said Jim Warren of NC WARN today.

He said the severity of the allegations, many now confirmed, apparently caused NRC to ramp up its investigation after an ambiguous response when the complaint was first filed. “But Mr. Cooper has kept his head down,” said Warren. “If Roy Cooper isn’t responsible to the people of North Carolina in this matter, then who is?”

Warren said Cooper’s spokeswoman indicated DOJ’s perceived role is limited to the single allegation involving Securitas forcing guards to cheat on certification exams. But NC WARN told Cooper that even if correct, such a probe appears set to fail because of DOJ rules that prevent granting confidentiality to guards – and thus would subject them to reprisals from Securitas and Progress.. After weeks of trying, NC WARN’s

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lawyer finally reached Cooper’s general counsel, J.B. Kelly last Friday, and was told only that Cooper’s office is monitoring the issue closely.

“We don’t need him just monitoring . We need him to be on top of this investigation and making double sure that the plant doesn’t go another four weeks without being secured,” said Pete MacDowell of NC WARN. “He’s the state’s top cop; but on this issue he’s in the donut shop.”

In the letter, NC WARN told Cooper, “It seems noteworthy that while you have recently gained much public attention by threatening legal action against out-of-state utilities over their air pollution, you are reluctant to conduct your duties regarding a home-based corporate utility whose plant, including its nuclear waste pools, constitute the greatest single security threat to this state.”

The watchdog group and security experts have long argued that nuclear plants are lightly defended against determined attackers – and even less so when security is undermined as reported by Harris guards. The guards are speaking out in part due to the 9/11 commission’s recent warnings that the federal government is failing to protect key targets, including nuclear plants, from possible attacks.

NRC investigators have told the group that they expect to spend another two weeks gathering information. Meanwhile, the agency’s Office of Inspector General is looking into whether the NRC itself is at fault, as the guards say, for turning a blind eye to security problems and complaints in recent months.

“If Roy Cooper really wants to be governor, he must show some leadership and the willingness to stand up to in-state corporate utilities on issues critical to public safety,” added MacDowell. “It’s amazing that he’s dodging a relative modest duty – to coordinate these investigations. It appears to be another indication of the dangerous power of corporations over elected officials.”

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Letter to Atty Gen. Cooper and attachment. Top of page: www.ncwarn.org

NC WARN is a grassroots non-profit using science and activism to tackle climate change and reduce hazards to public health and the environment from nuclear power and other polluting electricity production, and working for a transition to safe, economical energy in North Carolina.