NAS report makes security recommendations for U.S. reactors

Washington (Platts)--6Apr2005

Plant-by-plant vulnerability analyses should be performed on the 103 operating
nuclear reactors in the U.S. to determine which ones might be at risk from
terrorist attacks, according to a report a National Academy of Sciences (NAS)
committee released today. The committee found that an attack that partially or
completely drains a reactor's spent fuel pool might be capable of starting a
high-temperature cladding fire that could release large quantities of
radioactive material. However, because of the site-specific nature of the
pools, the panel was unable to say how many might be at risk and recommended
that an organization independent of NRC and the nuclear industry conduct the
assessment. The report also recommended two steps that could be taken
immediately to reduce the potential for such fires: reconfigure where spent
fuel is in the pool to more evenly distribute decay-heat loads, and use
water-spray systems that would continue to cool the fuel even after the pool
or building in which it is housed is damaged. The report is the public version
of a classified study NAS sent to Congress, NRC, and the Department of
Homeland Security last July. The report is on the NAS Web site at
(http://www.nationalacademies.org).

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