[NukeNet] NRC Says Wackenhut Security Failures at Seabrook Nuclear Plant Draw Possible Fine for Florida Power & Light

[MJ]

SEIU: NRC Says Wackenhut Security Failures at Seabrook Nuclear Plant Draw
Possible Fine for Florida Power & Light  


  Third Wackenhut-Guarded FP&L Nuclear Plant under NRC Investigation This
                                    Year
 DOE Also Investigating Wackenhut for Falsification of Training Records at
                   Oak Ridge Reservation Nuclear Facility

    WASHINGTON, Aug. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) has proposed to fine Florida Power and Light (FP&L)
$65,000 for a violation of security requirements at New Hampshire's
Seabrook Station nuclear power plant. FP&L, which owns and operates
Seabrook Station, contracts out security to the Wackenhut Corporation, a
subsidiary of London-based Group 4 Securicor. Wackenhut is the U.S.
government's largest supplier of private guards, holding multimillion
dollar contracts with the Department of Energy and other agencies. The
company guards nearly half the nation's commercial nuclear power plants
and
highly sensitive nuclear weapons sites where there have been numerous
security problems. This NRC fine was issued for failure to "maintain
complete and accurate records of test results."
    News of security failures at Seabrook follows the Department of
Homeland Security dropping Wackenhut's $9.6 million/yr. contract to
protect
its Washington, D.C. headquarters and the Department of Defense cutting
short contracts to protect U.S. Army bases -- including one where
Wackenhut
is eligible to receive an estimated $47 million/yr. as a subcontractor --
to put them out for competitive bidding. Wackenhut was a loser in 2003
when
a portion of the Army base security work had been put out to competitive
bidding.
    "Wackenhut has again demonstrated an inability to play by the rules
and
provide adequate security. Until the NRC takes action against this
irresponsible contractor, the public can have little confidence that our
nation's nuclear facilities are safe and secure," said Stephen Lerner,
Director of Property Services of Service Employees International Union
(SEIU), the nation's largest security officers' union working to raise
standards in the security industry.
    Alleged Homeland Security Lapses at Seabrook
    United States Representatives Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and John Tierney
(D- MA) raised questions about Seabrook's security in a May, 2005 letter
to
NRC chairman Nils Diaz noting alleged homeland security lapses at the
nuclear power plant. Among the problems cited in the letter and subsequent
press reports were:
    *  A perimeter intrusion detection system was never correctly
installed
       and had never been operational;

    *  Security guards used to compensate for the broken detection system
were

       forced to work excessive amounts of overtime;

    *  A security fence intended to prevent outside threats to Seabrook
       Station failed an NRC inspection and was declared inoperable,
according

       to an internal plant document obtained by Seacoast Newspapers;

    *  There was "inadequate monitoring of system performance," "no
evidence
       of management oversight of system testing," and "security human
       performance observations are performed almost exclusively by
Wackenhut
       personnel and are not self-critical."
    Additionally, NRC Conditions Reports from 2005 document further
security lapses at the site, including:
    *  Excessive overtime, including 17 instances of supervisors working
       shifts that exceeded 13 hours between 5/29/2005 and 06/03/2005;

    *  A newly appointed Security Manager had no security
       background/expertise;

    *  No objective evidence that four Armed Security Officers completed
the
       annual written examination.


    Third Wackenhut-Guarded FP&L Site under NRC Investigation This Year
    Seabrook is the third Wackenhut-guarded FP&L plant to be under
investigation by the NRC this year.
    "Significant issues" drew an Augmented Inspection Team (AIT) to
Florida's Turkey Point nuclear power plant in February. Three months
later,
a local news crew visiting the site found "a single (Wackenhut) guard
working the front gate at the plant, sporting an M-16 without ammunition."
The report generated a response from elected officials across the state,
including Florida governor Jeb Bush who questioned security protocols at
the facility.
    Earlier this year the NRC completed a special investigation into
"security-related concerns" at FP&L's St. Lucie nuclear power plant in
Florida. In 2004 six Wackenhut security officers and their supervisor were
removed from duty by FP&L after they took shortcuts during patrols and
allowed unescorted visitors to enter protected areas. In 2003 a number of
unsearched new fuel containers were transported into St. Lucie's protected
area on a flat bed truck where they were left unattended near the Unit 2
Fuel Handling Building.
    DOE also Investigating Wackenhut for Falsification of Training Records
    Wackenhut is also facing investigation concerning falsification of
training records at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Reservation,
according to the DOE Inspector General. A conviction or civil judgment for
falsification of records may be grounds for suspension or debarment of
contracts under the U.S. government's federal acquisitions regulations.
    Wackenhut security practices at a number of nuclear facilities have
come under fire.
    *  Wackenhut was caught cheating on an anti-terrorism drill at the
Y-12
       National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

    *  Wackenhut "systematically" violated weapons inventory and handling
       policies and performed poorly on an anti-terrorism drill at the
Nevada
       Test Site.

    *  Wackenhut had employees showing new hires at the Three Mile Island
       nuclear power plant where they could take naps while on duty.

    *  Wackenhut's involvement -- through a contract with the Nuclear
Energy
       Institute -- in testing security forces at Wackenhut-guarded plants
has

       come under fire as a clear conflict of interest.

    For more information, visit http://www.EyeonWackenhut.com




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"Liberty and democracy become unholy when their hands are dyed red with 
innocent blood": Gandhi, Non-violence in Peace and War, 1948

"Man is the only animal that deals in that atrocity of atrocities, War. He is the only one that gathers his brethren about him and goes forth in cold blood and calm pulse to exterminate his kind. He is the only animal that for sordid wages will march out... and help to slaughter strangers of his own species who have done him no harm and with whom he has no quarrel.... And in the intervals between campaigns he washes the blood off his hands and works for "the universal brotherhood of man" - with his mouth": Mark Twain

Molly Johnson 
6290 Hawk Ridge Place
San Miguel, CA  93451
Cell: 805 296-0524

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