Security guard at Peach Bottom nuclear plant injured - but that's just the start

Nov 22 - Patriot-News (Harrisburg, PA)

In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, nuclear plants across the country beefed up security amid fears that plants could become targets of attacks.

In York County , the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station in 2004 erected security watchtowers as part of those enhanced measures.

Now, one of those towers is at the center of a possible workplace investigation by federal authorities. The central figure in the story is a security guard who says his life has been transformed as a result of injuries sustained in one of the towers.

The security guard, who is 26 and lives in Lancaster County , spoke to PennLive but asked that his name not be used.

Early in the morning of Oct. 13 , Delta-Cardiff Fire Company firefighters were called to the station on the west bank of the Conowingo Pond of the Susquehanna River in York County . The fire crew rescued the security officer and medivaced him to hospital by helicopter.

The security guard, Exelon Corporation , which owns the plant, and an official from the fire company all agree on as much. The details of what happened, the nature of the injuries and subsequent action, however, differ considerably.

Exelon also owns Three Mile Island , located in Londonderry Township in Dauphin County .

According to the security guard, sometime around 4 a.m. on Oct. 13 , while on his two-hour shift in the tallest tower, a shelving unit holding a refrigerator and microwave fell from above on him when one of the walls of the tower collapsed.

He said he was knocked unconscious and was not medivaced until 9 a.m. because no one was trained or qualified to remove him from the tower. He now walks with a cane and has been unable to return to work. He said he is dealing with complications of a concussion, and injuries to his back, knee. In addition, he said he has memory loss and emotional issues as a result of the incident.

Officials at Peach Bottom , who first characterized the nature of the incident and the injuries as not serious, on Friday issued this statement:

"On October 13 , a Peach Bottom security officer was injured when a shelving system failed," said Lacey Dean , spokeswoman for Peach Bottom . "The Officer was transported to the hospital via a helicopter and was released home within one day. We have vigorously pursued an investigation and have taken interim corrective action to ensure a similar type of event could not occur again."

Dennis Emmel , vice president of the fire company, declined to provide more information about the rescue.

Dean said the incident was under investigation and declined to comment further.

PennLive, meanwhile, learned that Peach Bottom had not reported the month-old incident to federal authorities.

A spokeswoman for the Occupational Safety & Health Administration , a branch of the U.S. Department of Labor , on Friday confirmed that the agency was looking into launching an investigation as result of PennLive's call to their office.

Federal labor laws state that workplace injuries must be reported if they result in death, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness. The criteria also includes significant injuries or illness diagnosed by a physician or other health care professional, even if it does not result in death, days away from work, restricted work or job transfer, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness.

Nuclear power stations are required to report to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission only incidents involving radiation and radiation exposure and contamination. The commission regulates the nation's 100 nuclear plants, including the five in Pennsylvania .

"If it doesn't involve a radiological injury or transport to hospital because person is contaminated, that's not our area," said Maureen Conley , with the commission's public affairs office.

Officials in the Region 1 office of the NRC -- which oversees Peach Bottom and Pennsylvania's four other nuclear plants -- said they knew of the report, but not through formal channels.

"We have inspectors at the site so we were aware of it," said Diane Screnci , a spokesperson of the NRC's Region 1 .

Incidents are nuclear power plants, she reiterated, are formally reportable if a worker is injured and contaminated or if there is a fatality. Injury alone without contamination does not qualify under the reportable criteria.

The security guard contends that due to "equipment failure", it took a half hour for anyone to find him. He describes the tower as a 75-foot tall tunnel-like structure with a spiral stairwell and a hatch at the top that opens to a 9x9 "box" room, where the guards are stationed on lookout.

"No one was qualified to get me out of there," the security guard said.

He was taken to Lancaster General Hospital , where he spent about 36 hours before being released.

___

(c)2014 The Patriot-News (Harrisburg, Pa.)

Visit The Patriot-News (Harrisburg, Pa.) at www.pennlive.com

http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm?did=34410093&