Nuclear industry asks for increased reactor security construction | 12.27.2005 | 07:44:15 | Views: 5008 | ID: December 27 '06: The Associated Press reported Monday that nuclear industry officials are asking the federal government to require construction companies to change their reactor security construction plans so that the power plants are less vulnerable to fires, bomb attacks and terrorist strikes. The request was posted in a letter released December 8 by industry officials. A spokesman for the Nuclear Energy Institute, Scott Peterson, told the AP, "If you need to change the design to accommodate greater security, particularly for large fires and explosions, you want to do that up front in the design process, not after you build the plant." Currently, the U.S. government's position is opposite to the nuclear industry's. "More than a month ago, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission decided to keep the current design rules - now more than a decade old - for new plants and make those facilities fulfill security requirements later," the AP reported. NRC commissioner Gregory B. Jaczko told the New York Times current federal government regulations were insufficient. "He said the Dec. 8 letter is 'the clearest acknowledgment so far' that the industry believes plant designers should incorporate lessons from previous terrorist attacks," the AP continued. "The industry acknowledges that action should be taken to prevent or mitigate certain ... events including those resulting from large fires and explosions," the industry letter said.
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