NC WARN: Waste Awareness &
Reduction Network
PRESS STATEMENT Contact: Jim Warren
GAO Will Study Enforcement of Nuclear
Plant Fire Regulations
Statement from NC WARN Executive Director Jim Warren:
Today, Congressman David Price announced that the Government
Accountability Office (GAO) has accepted his request to study the US Nuclear
Regulatory Commission’s enforcement of fire safety standards at
The GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, will now
assemble a team for the study, which is expected to begin in September. This is a very important juncture in the years-long
campaign by public interest groups to force nuclear power plant owners to stop
cutting corners on vital safety issues. Fire
represents a leading risk factor for meltdown at nuclear plants.
NC WARN encourages the people of
Since last fall, the regional public has increasingly voiced
concern to public officials and Progress Energy management based on reports by
NC WARN and others about 14 years of violation at Harris, and the company’s
plans to delay compliance for years longer.
We especially wish to thank our technical experts and legal
co-petitioners Dave Lochbaum of the Union of Concerned Scientists, and Paul
Gunter of the Nuclear Information & Resource Service. Also, thanks to co-petitioners NC Fair Share
and SURGE, Students United for a Responsible Global Environment.
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* The officials who met with Rep. Price in April (with
support from others on their boards) to seek his help:
Dan Coleman, Carrboro Board of Aldermen,
Randy Voller, Mayor of Pittsboro,
Tom Vanderbeck, Chatham County Commission,
Mike Nelson, Orange County Commission,
Mike Gering, Hillsborough Board of Commissioners,
Mark Kleinschmidt, Chapel Hill Town Council,
Rep. David Price: