nuclear-news

“multiple system failures on many levels” US nuclear weapons plant safety audit

Weapons Plant Security Issues Are Described in U.S. Audit, NYT, By MATTHEW L. WALD, August 31, 2012 WASHINGTON — The contractors in charge of guarding the national stockpile of bomb-grade uranium in Tennessee knew well before an 82-year-old nun and two other pacifists broke through three barriers this summer that a lot of the security equipment was broken, and government managers knew it too, according to an internal audit of Energy Department operations at the weapons facility. The inspector general’s investigation found “troubling displays of ineptitude.” The intruders used ordinary bolt cutters to penetrate as far as the uranium storage building before dawn on July 28, and then went undiscovered until they approached an officer in his vehicle and surrendered, according to the audit. The officer failed to draw his gun or even secure his gun from seizure, “and permitted the trespassers to roam about and retrieve various items from backpacks they had apparently brought into the area,” the report said.

September 3, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Activist nun has highlighted poor security at USA nuclear bomb plant

“Troubling ineptitude” in security at nuclear bomb plant  By Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON | Fri Aug 31, 2012   (Reuters) – Guards at a government plant for storing weapons-grade uranium failed to spot activists, including an 82-year-old nun, who cut through its fences until they walked up to an officer’s car and surrendered, an official report said on Friday.

The report from the Energy Department’s inspector general, Gregory Friedman, criticized multiple failures of sophisticated security systems and “troubling displays of ineptitude” at the Y-12 facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee in July.

Three anti-nuclear activists, including an 82-year-old nun, were not initially spotted or detained as they cut through three perimeter fences on July 28.

They painted slogans and threw what they said was human blood on the outer wall of a building where highly enriched uranium, a key component of nuclear bombs, is stored…. Top nuclear officials from the Energy Department will face scrutiny over the security breach from lawmakers on the House of Representatives’ Energy and Commerce Committee on September …. Friedman’s report said the U.S. government had budgeted about $150 million in taxpayer funds for security at the Y-12 plant for fiscal 2012, yet the officer responding to the alarm did not notice the trespassers until they walked up to his car and “surrendered.”… http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/31/us-usa-security-nuclear-idUSBRE87U0WA20120831

September 1, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | Leave a comment

USA nuclear power plants should never have been built near earthquake faults

http://noyonews.net  By Ed Oberweiser  Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and Southern California Edison (SCE) have placed millions of California citizens in danger of a nuclear catastrophe on a par with Fukushima.

They’ve built nuclear power plants near earthquake faults capable of generating earthquakes that could damage the plants and irradiate millions of people.  Continue reading →

September 1, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s unsatisfactory handling of Davis Besse nuclear safety issuear

Congressman Kucinich Demands Investigation of Nuclear Safety Agency
http://nuclearhistory.wordpress.com/2012/08/30/congressman-kucinich-demands-investigation-of-nuclear-safety-agency/
http://kucinich.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=306494 Washington, Aug 15 – Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) is today demanding the Inspector General of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which oversees safety at our nation’s nuclear power plants, investigate the agency’s handling of the reopening of Davis-Besse in northern Ohio after cracks were discovered in the shield building. Continue reading →

August 30, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Hackers may be able to attack US nuclear power plants

US Nuclear Power Plants May Be Totally Vulnerable To Hackers Jim Finkle , Reuters     | Aug. 22, 2012 BOSTON – The U.S. government is looking into claims by a cyber security researcher that flaws in software for specialized networking equipment from Siemens could enable hackers to attack power plants and other critical systems.
Justin W. Clarke, an expert in securing industrial control systems, disclosed at a conference in Los Angeles on Friday that he had figured out a way to spy on traffic moving through networking equipment manufactured by Siemens’ RuggedCom division.
The Department of Homeland Security said in an alert released on Tuesday that it had asked RuggedCom to confirm the vulnerability that Clarke, a 30-year-old security expert who has long worked in theelectric utility field, had identified and identify steps to mitigate its impact……  http://www.businessinsider.com/flaw-in-us-computer-software-may-allow-hackers-to-control-nuclear-power-plants-2012-8#ixzz24Lul43tb

August 22, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Dubious ‘safety culture’ at Tennessee Nuclear Weapons Facility

Workers at Tennessee Nuclear Facility Say Safety Takes Backseat to Deadlines Project on Government Oversight (POGO) By MIA STEINLE, 17 Aug 12 Some workers who are designing and building a major nuclear weapons facility for the government say they feel pressure to put deadlines ahead of safety,  according to a recent Department of Energy report

“Interviewees indicated that schedule pressures can inhibit reporting of concerns,” the report said. “The heavy emphasis on performance metrics and cost, often at the perceived expense of understanding and developing the right technology, has created issues for the completion of the project,” the report said.

The June report focused on part of the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn., that is intended to consolidate operations involving bomb-grade uranium for the nation’s nuclear arsenal. When completed, the Uranium Processing Facility will be used for the assembly, disassembly and storage of bomb components and of bomb-grade uranium, according to its website.

The report was posted on a government web site just days after  a major security breach at Y-12 last month, when three protesters, including an 82-year-old nun, broke into a high-security area of Y-12. The anti-nuclear activists bypassed security guards and several fences to enter the complex, the Knoxville News-Sentinel reported. The new uranium facility is being built in the same high-security area.

A team of external safety culture experts evaluating the ongoing design and construction work for the Department of Energy interviewed and surveyed more than 800 people involved in the project.  Those interviewed are employed by the government or by private companies under contract to the government……
The report said there are “negative perceptions around feeling free to challenge management decisions” at the site.   It added that there is “a lack of ownership and accountability for safety” among contractors on the project.

“There is the expectation [among the contractors] that someone else or something else will take care of accountability,” the report said.  http://pogoblog.typepad.com/pogo/2012/08/workers-at-tennessee-nuclear-facility-say-safety-takes-backseat-to-deadlines.html

August 18, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | Leave a comment