Dec 30 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Rob Pavey The Augusta Chronicle, Ga.


Commercial nuclear power plants -- including Plant Vogtle -- might be asked to tighten security for spent nuclear fuel stored onsite, according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

In a notice published Dec. 16 in the Federal Register, the commission said it is in the early stages of updating the methods used to protect such wastes from theft or terrorist attack.

"The objectives of this action, as stated in the Federal Register Notice, are to update current security requirements to improve consistency and clarity and use a risk-informed and performance-based structure," said Holly Harrington, an NRC spokeswoman in Washington. "Exactly how the final rulemaking will compare with existing regulations won't be known until some time in the future."

Spent fuel from commercial reactors is typically stored onsite -- either in pools or specially designed "dry cask" containers. According to a Congressional Research Report prepared by the National Council on Science and the Environment, there are at least 83 such locations in the U.S., where 104 commercial reactors generate about 2,000 metric tons of spent fuel each year.

After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the commission evaluated various methods of attacking such sites using aircraft and ground assaults. Those assessments indicated no "significant vulnerabilities," but challenged previous studies that said increased security was needed. Because those assessments discuss vulnerability details, they are not publicly available.

In addition to recalculating risks associated with radiation releases, operators of storage sites would also be required to further evaluate the effects from the detonation of both a land-based and waterborne vehicle bomb attack, the notice said. Similar tests would be required to gauge the strength of vehicle barriers, security stations and other onsite measures.

Plant Vogtle in Burke County is one of three nuclear projects operated by Southern Nuclear, and all three plants store spent fuel onsite, said company spokeswoman Alyson Fuqua. Vogtle is also one of several sites where additional reactors will be constructed during the next decade.

"The material at Vogtle is tightly guarded and is inside the containment area, behind barbed razor wire and armed guards," she said. Just this month, additional concrete vehicle barriers were being added to Vogtle's most secure areas, although such precautions were in the pipeline long before the NRC mentioned its plan to upgrade spent fuel security.

"The work being done at Plant Vogtle has nothing to do with the new units," she said. "This is just one of the changes/upgrades you will see across the industry."

Spent fuel at Vogtle is stored in pools, but the capacity for such storage is expected to run out in 2014, after which the material will be kept in dry cask containers.

"If we reach a point where we have to go to dry cask storage, we'd also have the dry cask storage in the same area," she said, adding that the spent fuel to be created by Units 3 and 4 -- scheduled to go online in 2016 and 2017 -- will be guarded with the same methods now used to protect spent fuel from existing units 1 and 2.

Ms. Harrington said the NRC's effort to re-examine spent fuel security is in the early stages, and she could not offer a timetable when sites might be asked to comply with tighter rules.

"So at this point, there is nothing Vogtle is required to do and no timetable for compliance," she said. "As you no doubt know, the path to a final rule is a long one."

Ms. Fuqua said Southern Company is always working to improve security and is monitoring the NRC's actions also.

"Keep in mind that there has not been anything proposed at this time," she said. "We are under the understanding that they are starting to evaluate some things and do some research to see if there are any changes that need to potentially be made. Of course, when they are, we'll comply and will meet any regulation they put in place."

Reach Rob Pavey at 868-1222, ext. 119 or rob.pavey@augustachronicle.com.

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