Reps. Markey, Tierney, Meehan Investigate Additional Seabrook Documents

REPS. MARKEY, TIERNEY, MEEHAN INVESTIGATE
ADDITIONAL SEABROOK DOCUMENTS

Documents Show Security Guards Overworked, Security Boss Unqualified

Washington, DC: Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA), a senior Member of the Homeland Security
Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the panel which oversees the regulation of
nuclear reactors, Representative John F. Tierney (D-MA) the only New England member on the House
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and Representative Martin T. Meehan, a senior Member of the
House Armed Services Committee and the Ranking Democrat on the Terrorism Subcommittee, today
released a third letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regarding serious security problems at
the Seabrook nuclear power plant.
"Two weeks ago we learned that the security fence at Seabrook has been broken for months," said Rep.
Markey. "Last week additional physical security problems were disclosed. This week it turns out that the
reactor spokesperson who dismissed my earlier concerns wasn't telling the truth, and the head of security at
Seabrook doesn't have ANY security experience whatsoever. Not only does the security problem at
Seabrook seem more serious with each passing week, but now it appears the reactor's owner isn't being
straight with the public."
"While we are pleased to hear that the NRC has launched an investigation, it must be thorough enough to
adequately address the serious issues we have raised. We will continue to press the NRC to immediately
address our security concerns," said Rep. Tierney.
"In this age of terrorist threats, it is inexcusable for a nuclear power plant to have so many holes in its
security defenses," said Rep. Meehan. "With millions of Massachusetts and New Hampshire residents living
in close proximity to the Seabrook reactor there is no room for complacency or error. It is frightening that
Seabrook's own condition report last month found its security operations inadequate, yet the plant
management refuses to acknowledge a problem. I believe the Nuclear Regulatory Commission needs to take
immediate action to rectify this situation."
On May 25, 2005, Reps. Markey and Tierney sent a letter to the NRC that called for an investigation into an
inoperable perimeter intrusion detection system, and the reactor operator's efforts to compensate for the
perimeter security failures by forcing the security guard forces to work so many hours that they were in
violation of the Commission's overtime regulation. In a May 26, 2005 article by the Associated Press, a
plant spokesman was quoted as stating that "at no time has Seabrook ever been in a position that it can't
protect public health and safety," adding that the plant's safety systems "are multilayered and not isolated to
any one system." However, several documents obtained by the Congressmen and released today call this
statement into question, such as a May 4, 2005 Condition Report that states that the "Newly Appointed
Security Manager has no security background experience, lack of technical expertise will preclude this
individual from providing appropriate direction and oversight to restore internal & external confidence in
Security organization."
The document identifies other critical threats in the staffing of this nuclear facility detailing that, "Selection
of a security manager with no experience shows a lack of understanding on a station and/or corporate level
of what is required to make the security organization healthy and successful. The recent root cause (05-2422)
cited lack of security manager technical knowledge as a contributing cause to failure to ensure all aspects of
the security order were met."
Though a reactor spokesman stated in previous press reports that the overtime allegation made by the
Congressmen is "completely erroneous," adding that "we have no idea where Markey is getting this," the
documents released today indicate that in fact there have been several incidents involving overworked
security guard forces. For example, one May 17, 2005 Condition Report states that "Two Security Officers
on Backshift exceeded the Individual Work hour limits when they were called in to support potential
Compensatory posts."
Reps. Markey, Tierney and Meehan will continue to push for action on these security failures. The
Congressmen's letter to the NRC concludes that these documents "do not inspire confidence that Seabrook
has ‘never been in a position that it can't protect public health and safety,' as Mr. Griffith asserted. The
discrepancies between the Seabrook spokesman's statements and the documentation we have obtained leads
us not only to continue to have a high level of concern regarding the security posture at Seabrook, but in
addition, to question whether statements made on behalf of the reactor licensee have any basis in reality."
Responding to initial inquiries from Rep. Markey and Rep. Tierney and a visit to the site from Rep. Meehan,
the NRC launched an inspection this week of the Seabrook facility. Though the inspection is part of ongoing
security checks, the NRC spokesman said they would be looking into the concerns raised by the
Congressmen.
For a copy of the Congressmen's letter or more information regarding Rep. Markey's or Rep. Tierney's other
work in the area of nuclear reactor security, please see www.house.gov/markey or www.house.gov/tierney
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http://www.house.gov/markey/Issues/iss_nuclear_pr050607.pdf