NUKE COMMISSION IGNORES TERROR
Nuclear reactors open to terrorist attacks? No big deal, says the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
It's too hard to tell what the risk of such attacks would be. And discussing such dangers would "unduly alarm the public," the Times reports.
"The commission has historically declined to speculate about terrorist threats against reactors. In the late 80's and early 90's, it fought off arguments that it needed stronger defenses against truck bombs, despite truck bomb attacks around the world. The commission argued that in the United States no bomb could be assembled without attracting the notice of the police. But in early 1993, terrorists exploded a truck bomb in an underground garage at the World Trade Center and a man with a history of mental problems drove his station wagon through an open gate at Three Mile Island and drove into the turbine building.
"Shortly after that, the commission revised its rules to cover bombs in small vehicles. But it has not instituted any sweeping rules related to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001."
According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, 24 percent of commission employees do not feel that "the NRC's commitment to public safety is apparent." Only 53 percent of the workers believe it is "safe to speak up in the NRC."
