Mar 4 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Christina Kauffman The York Dispatch, Pa.



Visitors to Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station are greeted by a guard wearing enough combat gear to pass as a soldier.

A large machine gun, hanging from a strap over his shoulder, is never set aside.

There's little question, among ample swirls of razor wire and bullet-resistant guard towers, that security is paramount.

But while this armed man may represent the societal ideal of protection, few people outside the power plant realize that two mechanical engineers wearing casual office attire are just as responsible for its security.

 Dressed in khakis and dress shirts, Fred Bower and Adam Ziedonis, carry pads and pens -- and sometimes a flashlight -- to ensure the safety of tens of thousands of people.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has given the men uncommon power and enormous responsibility, along with unfettered access to every inch of the 620-acre nuclear power operation.

They've been stationed at Peach Bottom as resident inspectors, there to guarantee that Exelon Nuclear, which operates the plant, follows the regulations issued by the NRC. The regulations are intended to affirm that the plant is operating safely.

The two can show up anywhere on site, checking the company's performance at any task, from fixing an emergency power generator to preparing to transport radioactive fuel.

Ziedonis said the men are "the eyes and ears of our agency, and the eyes and ears of the public."

A typical day: The practice of placing resident inspectors

at plants isn't new, but Ziedonis is.

The 29-year-old Delaware County resident was sent to Peach Bottom in October, after receiving his bachelor's and master's degrees and going through an intensive NRC training program.

Bower, 59, of Chester County, is the senior inspector. He has worked at Peach

Bottom for five years and has spent his entire career working around nuclear energy.

A typical day starts with the men reporting to the two-reactor site in the early morning and being briefed on any significant events of the night. After recounting their findings to the NRC, they perform random and routine inspections.

When an inspector disagrees with a worker's handling of a situation, dialogue is often the first step to resolving the conflict, Bower said.

If the issue isn't resolved or rises to the level of an egregious error, he said, the inspector can report the finding to the NRC. The agency has the power to fine or even shut down a nuclear operation.

Ziedonis said there's a "unique relationship" that forms when working side by side with the people one is assigned to regulate.

The atmosphere is friendly, but is also inherently marked with boundaries.

With public safety dependent on their objectivity, the men aren't permitted to accept gifts from anyone, they said.

Ziedonis said, for example, said he's not permitted to indulge in a bagel or doughnut when co-workers bring food to work. To do so could give the perception of accepting a gift and compromising objectivity.

Inspectors are also barred from spending more than seven years at a single nuclear site, so their familiarity there doesn't influence their ability to be objective and independent, said NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan.

No Homer, no sleeping: While the inspectors are accustomed to a work environment that includes body sensors for detecting radiation, much of the public isn't as well-versed on the operations of a nuclear facility, they said.

Ziedonis said people who hear about his line of work often make reference to "The Simpsons" cartoon show, in which character Homer Simpson has folly-filled days as an operator at a nuclear facility. The atmosphere, he assured recent visitors, is much more sober.

"(Homer's behavior) would not fly," he said.

Bower pointed out, though, that there are times when people intentionally do their jobs incorrectly -- or not at all.

In 2007, a group of sleeping guards escaped detection from NRC inspectors, one of whom was Bower.

Last year, the NRC fined Exelon $65,000 after a video of sleeping guards was taken at Peach Bottom and released to the media. An investigation found there were multiple occasions when guards were sleeping.

As part of its corrective action, Exelon fired Wackenhut, the company that was providing its guards, and hired its own security force. The NRC took action of its own.

Bower said additional scrutiny was paid to inspectors, though "it would have been very difficult to uncover" the sleeping guards because they colluded to avoid detection. And, the inspectors work during the day.

Security officers had already been under the purview of resident inspectors, but the NRC has since budgeted hours per week to overseeing them, Bower said.

Bower and Ziedonis have also made sure to make appearances when they typically wouldn't be expected, Ziedonis said.

He recently reported to work at 3 a.m. for a fire drill, and took the opportunity to stop by some security positions.

--Reach Christina Kauffman at 505-5436 or ckauffman@yorkdispatch.com.

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