FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 14, 2001


SCHUMER CALLS ON HOMELAND SECURITY OFFICE AND NRC TO BOOST SAFETY AT
NEW YORK NUCLEAR SITES

Senator requests new threat assessments and security upgrades at all New York nuclear facilities; Calls for improved coordination with local officials

US Senator CHARLES E. SCHUMER today called on the Office of Homeland Security (OHS) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to immediately assess and upgrade security procedures at all nuclear facilities in New York State and to keep local officials better informed of their efforts. In a letter to OHS Director Tom Ridge and NRC Chairman Richard Meserve, Schumer urged the two agencies to explore a number of options that could bolster security at the state's nuclear sites.

"Improving homeland defenses doesn't just entail tighter aviation screenings or increased border security," Schumer said. "It means leaving no stone unturned and taking steps to shore up every possible vulnerability. That includes making sure that all nuclear sites are secure - not just power plants, but also storage facilities, academic centers and all other locations."

New York is home to six commercial nuclear reactors located in Oswego, Ontario and Buchanan; two academic research reactors based at Cornell University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; two sites associated with the Naval Reactors program in West Milton and Schenectady; and the only commercial nuclear fuel reprocessing facility to ever operate in the United States - the West Valley Demonstration Project, located about 35 miles south of Buffalo.

"All of these facilities are located in close proximity to highly populated residential areas, and a successful terrorist attack against any one of them would seriously endanger their surrounding communities," said Schumer, a member of the Senate Energy Committee. "We simply cannot do enough to safeguard these pockets of exposure."

The James A. Fitzpatrick plant is located seven miles northeast of Oswego at Nine Mile Point on Lake Ontario. Within a year, the storage pools in which the plant stores its spent fuel will have reached their maximum capacity, forcing the Fitzpatrick plant to place its spent fuel in above-ground dry cask storage units. The 900 acre site is also the site of two other General Electric boiling water reactor facilities, Nine Mile Point 1 and 2.

Test The Indian Point plant has two active units in Westchester County's town of Buchanan. The plant is located on 239 acres in the east bank of the Hudson River, just 24 miles north of New York City; Rochester Gas & Electric's Robert E. Ginna nuclear plant - a single unit Westinghouse 2-Loop pressurized water reactor - is located on Lake Ontario just east of Rochester.

Schumer wrote that recent tests conducted by the NRC, studies by the General Accounting Office (GAO) and news accounts detailing the vulnerabilities of nuclear plants and facilities have revealed that they are among the weakest aspects of America's national security infrastructure. Tests conducted by the NRC since 1992 to evaluate nuclear plant antiterrorism measures, for example, found that 47% of reactors failed to thwart mock terrorist ground attacks.

Schumer acknowledged some of the preliminary precautions taken to date such as the implementation of a temporary no-fly zone over nuclear plants, but said that these kinds of vulnerabilities suggest more needs to be done to ensure long-term security at these sites. Schumer asked Ridge and Meserve to explore the viability of a number of security options, including:

1) The reinstatement of a no-fly zone over nuclear facilities until adequate steps have been taken to fully address the threat of a potential aerial strike. Schumer asked the NRC and OHS to work with the FAA to figure out a way to help smaller airports that might fall within the allotted radius of a no- fly zone to remain open where possible;

2) Augmenting the authority of the Office of Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) and the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) to penalize and remedy security deficiencies found at nuclear facilities;

3) Allowing the NMSS, NRR, or OHS to order the deployment of military equipment and personnel to nuclear facilities when threat levels reach a threshold to be determined by the Director of the OHS;
4) Ensuring that the level of security at nuclear facilities under the jurisdiction of the DOE and U.S. military is reevaluated and reinforced;

5) Finally, Schumer said the OHS and NRC should brief local officials representing communities located near nuclear sites on what steps are being taken to improve security. As the likely first responders to any terrorist attack, Schumer said that local officials need to be kept informed of threats in order to deploy their emergency resources in a manner that does not compromise their other public safety responsibilities. He also said the OHS and NRC should review existing evacuation procedures for these facilities and their surrounding areas and ensure that local officials are fully briefed on them.

"While the measures taken to date have been good first steps, we must do more to ensure that this vital security need is addressed to the fullest of our nation's capabilities," Schumer wrote in the letter.

A copy of Schumer's letter is available upon request.

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