Investigation into Amarillo, Texas-Area Nuclear Plant's Power Outage Expands

Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas --Jun. 2

Jun. 2--A cause had not been determined for a major, hourlong power outage at a nuclear weapons plant near Amarillo in North Texas, and the investigation is expanding, an official said Tuesday.

The May 19 blackout affected the entire Pantex plant, America's only nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility, but backup power kicked in "very, very quick," said Jud Simmons, plant spokesman.

Simmons said that it was the most severe power outage ever at the plant -- a depository of large amounts of radioactive materials -- but that security was never compromised.

When such an emergency occurs, he said, "We have a lot of different backup systems to make sure we can place all weapons systems in a safe and stable configuration."

After searching for a cause of the outage for more than two weeks, Simmons said the internal probe has expanded and additional people have been hired to investigate. "We are keeping the Department of Energy informed, of course, on what we're doing," he said.

Considered a potential terrorist target, Pantex is a 16,000-acre facility, 17 miles northeast of Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle, where some nuclear warheads are put together, others are disassembled, and still others have their radioactive components -- plutonium and uranium -- removed to heavily guarded storage banks.

In January, Pantex was cited by federal investigators when its workers taped together broken pieces of highly explosive materials taken from the plutonium trigger of an old warhead. If any of the explosives had been dropped during the improper handling, it could have set off a "violent reaction," the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board said in a letter to Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham.

Regarding the May 19 power outage at Pantex, Simmons would not comment on whether officials had ruled out sabotage.

"Until a final determination is made, I think it's premature to speculate on anything," he said.

John Salsman, the radiation safety officer for Texas A&M University and the former emergency planning manager for the Comanche Peak nuclear plant near Glen Rose in North Texas, characterized the Pantex outage as minor, as long as backup systems engaged quickly.

However, the fact that the plant still does not know what caused the outage could be an "area of concern," Salsman said.

Mavis Belisle, who lives across the highway from the plant and is the director of Peace Farm, a nuclear watchdog group, said she suspects that Pantex is playing down the significance of the event.

A loss of power, even for a very short time, could affect the air-conditioning that cools the plutonium and uranium, stall radioactive monitors and disengage palm-print machines that control access to the facility, Belisle said.

"Anyone who thought it (the power outage) wasn't a concern is being extremely naive," she said.

A Pantex press release issued soon after the outage said plant operations were suspended until power was restored. "For security reasons," the release said, "some plant personnel were temporarily restricted from entering or exiting the plant."

Walt Kelley, emergency management coordinator for the city of Amarillo, said Pantex officials have told him that they did not notify outside emergency services -- such as hospitals or fire departments -- at the time because they felt "there was nothing in a critical mode."

Kelley said Pantex officials have since agreed to give outside authorities at least a "courtesy notification" if such an event recurs.

 

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