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.
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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