NRC Agrees with Union of Concerned Scientists and Mothers for Peace

December 18, 2008

PRESS RELEASE  - San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace

On December 17, 2008 the Nuclear Regulatory Commission "approved a rule that enhances security requirements for nuclear power reactors."

In part, the new rule reflects input from the Union of Concerned Scientists and the San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace. In a Petition for Rulemaking filed April 28, 2003, the two groups sought changes to the NRC's security regulations in two areas: safety and security evaluation integration; and aerial hazards. With the final rulemaking announced yesterday, the NRC accepted and acted upon the safety and security evaluation integration portion of the petition. They did not accept the aerial hazards part.

The safety and security evaluation integration problem identified in the petition was that safety and security decisions were being made in isolation. For example, the security organization might properly decide that better protection against sabotage results from padlocking all internal doors. Thus, it takes intruders longer to blow through or crow-bar open locked doors, giving more time for security guards to successfully intervene. But padlocking all internal doors also means that it takes longer for operators to respond to non-sabotage events like fires and electrical system faults.

The new rule requires owners to evaluate proposed changes to the plant and its procedures from both a safety and security perspective, such that gains in one area are not made at expense of losses in the other.

Spokesperson Jane Swanson observes that, "The NRC has acknowledged in its rulemaking that Mothers For Peace advocates reasonable, practical solutions to nuclear safety and security problems. Mothers for Peace is currently challenging recent decisions of the NRC on a separate security issue involving dry cask storage of radioactive materials at Diablo Canyon nuclear plant in the Ninth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals. We hope that both the Court and the NRC will take into account the contributions Mothers for Peace has made to public safety over the decades."

The Petition filed by UCS and MFP is available at both the Mothers For Peace and the UCS websites:

http://mothersforpeace.org/data/20030428MotherUCSFoiaPetitionApril/?sear...

20030428-ucs-mfp-prm-security.pdf

The wording of the new NRC rule will be published in the Federal Register, according to the NRC's press release.