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Assessing Public Safety and Security Measures at Nuclear Power Facilities

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Assessing Public Safety and Security Measures at Nuclear Power Facilities EMERGING THREATS: ASSESSING PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY MEASURES AT NUCLEAR POWER FACILITIES HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY, EMERGING THREATS AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION MARCH 10, 2003 Serial No. 108–43 Printed for the use of the Committee on Government Reform ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpo.gov/congress/house http://www.house.gov/reform U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 89–075 PDF WASHINGTON : 2003 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 11:42 Oct 02, 2003 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 D:\DOCS\89075.TXT HGOVREF1 PsN: HGOVREF1 COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM TOM DAVIS, Virginia, Chairman DAN BURTON, Indiana HENRY A. WAXMAN, California CHRISTOPHER SHAYS, Connecticut TOM LANTOS, California ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida MAJOR R. OWENS, New York JOHN M. MCHUGH, New York EDOLPHUS TOWNS, New York JOHN L. MICA, Florida PAUL E. KANJORSKI, Pennsylvania MARK E. SOUDER, Indiana CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York STEVEN C. LATOURETTE, Ohio ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland DOUG OSE, California DENNIS J. KUCINICH, Ohio RON LEWIS, Kentucky DANNY K. DAVIS, Illinois JO ANN DAVIS, Virginia JOHN F. TIERNEY, Massachusetts TODD RUSSELL PLATTS, Pennsylvania WM. LACY CLAY, Missouri CHRIS CANNON, Utah DIANE E. WATSON, California ADAM H. PUTNAM, Florida STEPHEN F. LYNCH, Massachusetts EDWARD L. SCHROCK, Virginia CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR., Tennessee LINDA T. SANCHEZ, California JOHN SULLIVAN, Oklahoma C.A. ‘‘DUTCH’’ RUPPERSBERGER, Maryland NATHAN DEAL, Georgia ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, District of CANDICE S. MILLER, Michigan Columbia TIM MURPHY, Pennsylvania JIM COOPER, Tennessee MICHAEL R. TURNER, Ohio CHRIS BELL, Texas JOHN R. CARTER, Texas ——— WILLIAM J. JANKLOW, South Dakota BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee (Independent) PETER SIRH, Staff Director MELISSA WOJCIAK, Deputy Staff Director ROB BORDEN, Parliamentarian TERESA AUSTIN, Chief Clerk PHILIP M. SCHILIRO, Minority Staff Director SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY, EMERGING THREATS AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS CHRISTOPHER SHAYS, Connecticut, Chairman MICHAEL R. TURNER, Ohio DAN BURTON, Indiana DENNIS J. KUCINICH, Ohio STEVEN C. LATOURETTE, Ohio TOM LANTOS, California RON LEWIS, Kentucky BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont TODD RUSSELL PLATTS, Pennsylvania STEPHEN F. LYNCH, Massachusetts ADAM H. PUTNAM, Florida CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York EDWARD L. SCHROCK, Virginia LINDA T. SANCHEZ, California JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR., Tennessee C.A. ‘‘DUTCH’’ RUPPERSBERGER, Maryland TIM MURPHY, Pennsylvania CHRIS BELL, Texas WILLIAM J. JANKLOW, South Dakota JOHN F. TIERNEY, Massachusetts EX OFFICIO TOM DAVIS, Virginia HENRY A. WAXMAN, California LAWRENCE J. HALLORAN, Staff Director and Counsel J. VINCENT CHASE, Chief Investigator ROBERT A. BRIGGS, Clerk DAVID RAPALLO, Minority Counsel (II) VerDate 11-MAY-2000 11:42 Oct 02, 2003 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 D:\DOCS\89075.TXT HGOVREF1 PsN: HGOVREF1 C O N T E N T S Page Hearing held on March 10, 2003 ............................................................................ 1 Statement of: Blumenthal, Richard, attorney general, State of Connecticut; John T. Wiltse, director, Office of Emergency Management, State of Connecti- cut; and Richard Bond, first selectman, town of New Canaan ................. 123 Conklin, W. Craig, Technological Services Division, Office of National Preparedness, Emergency Preparedness and Response Directorate, De- partment of Homeland Security; and Hubert Miller, NRC Region 1 Administrator, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, accompanied by Law- rence Chandler, Associate General Counsel for Hearings, Enforcement and Administration, Nuclear Regulatory Commission .............................. 67 Wells, Jim, Director, Natural Resources and the Environment, U.S. Gen- eral Accounting Office; Michael J. Slobodien, director, emergency pro- grams, Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.; William F. Renz, director, nuclear protection services and emergency preparedness, Dominion Re- sources Services, Inc.; Angelina S. Howard, executive vice president, Nuclear Energy Institute; Alex Matthiessen, executive director, Riverkeeper; and David Lochbaum, nuclear safety engineer, Union of Concerned Scientists ..................................................................................... 157 Letters, statements, etc., submitted for the record by: Blumenthal, Richard, attorney general, State of Connecticut, prepared statement of ................................................................................................... 126 Bond, Richard, first selectman, town of New Canaan, prepared statement of ..................................................................................................................... 146 Conklin, W. Craig, Technological Services Division, Office of National Preparedness, Emergency Preparedness and Response Directorate, De- partment of Homeland Security, prepared statement of ........................... 71 Howard, Angelina S., executive vice president, Nuclear Energy Institute, prepared statement of ................................................................................... 197 Kelly, Hon. Sue, a Representative in Congress from the State of New York: Followup questions and responses ........................................................... 115 Indian Point Emergency Preparedness Independent Expert Task Force report ............................................................................................ 12 Kucinich, Hon. Dennis J., a Representative in Congress from the State of Ohio, prepared statement of .................................................................... 7 Lochbaum, David, nuclear safety engineer, Union of Concerned Scientists, prepared statement of ................................................................................... 278 Matthiessen, Alex, executive director, Riverkeeper, prepared statement of ..................................................................................................................... 253 Miller, Hubert, NRC Region 1 Administrator, Nuclear Regulatory Com- mission, prepared statement of .................................................................... 88 Renz, William F., director, nuclear protection services and emergency preparedness, Dominion Resources Services, Inc., prepared statement of ..................................................................................................................... 189 Shays, Hon. Christopher, a Representative in Congress from the State of Connecticut: Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 3 Various prepared statements ................................................................... 53 Slobodien, Michael J., director, emergency programs, Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., prepared statement of ..................................................... 182 Wells, Jim, Director, Natural Resources and the Environment, U.S. Gen- eral Accounting Office, prepared statement of ........................................... 161 (III) VerDate 11-MAY-2000 11:42 Oct 02, 2003 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 D:\DOCS\89075.TXT HGOVREF1 PsN: HGOVREF1 IV Page Letters, statements, etc., submitted for the record by—Continued Wiltse, John T., director, Office of Emergency Management, State of Connecticut, prepared statement of ............................................................ 133 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 11:42 Oct 02, 2003 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 D:\DOCS\89075.TXT HGOVREF1 PsN: HGOVREF1 EMERGING THREATS: ASSESSING PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY MEASURES AT NU- CLEAR POWER FACILITIES MONDAY, MARCH 10, 2003 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY, EMERGING THREATS AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM, Washington, DC. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:05 p.m., in room 2154, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Christopher Shays (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Representatives Shays, Turner, Janklow, Kucinich and Tierney. Also present: Representative Kelly. Staff present: Lawrence Halloran, staff director and counsel; J. Vincent Chase, chief investigator; Robert A. Briggs, clerk; Mac- kenzie Eaglen, fellow; David Rapallo, minority counsel; and Jean Gosa, minority assistant clerk. Mr. SHAYS. This hearing entitled, ‘‘Assessing Public Safety and Security Measures at Nuclear Facilities,’’ is called to order. The attacks of September 11, 2001 should have seared this hard truth into our national consciousness: Security is not a state of rest. It is not a static measure. Sanctuary from the terrorists of the 21st century demands a new level of vigilance to protect the public from known and emerging threats. Heightened awareness of new threats and proactive counter- measures are particularly imperative to protect critical infrastruc- ture facilities, fixed assets of enormous importance to national eco- nomic and social well-being. Of those, civilian nuclear power plants stand as highly attractive targets of terrorism. Today, we ask if Federal regulators are demanding the physical security and preparedness enhancements needed to protect public health and safety from nuclear
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