October 9, 2001

Seacoast Anti-Pollution League Offers Governor Shaheen a "Seven-Point Program" to Address Nuclear Terrorism at the Seabrook Nuclear Plant

The Seacoast Anti-Pollution League (SAPL) has called upon New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen to adopt a "Seven-Point Program" to address nuclear terrorism. The recommendations were formed by the group in the wake of heightened terrorist threats in the country, and in response to increased public concern over the safety and security of the nation's 103 nuclear reactors, including one at Seabrook station in southeast New Hampshire.

In an October 9 letter to the Governor Shaheen, SAPL board member James O. Horrigan expressed the organization's concern about the current safety and security situation at the Seabrook nuclear power plant during these times of heightened alert. "As one observer put it," Horrigan wrote, "nuclear power plants are now potential 'weapons of apocalyptic destruction, just waiting to be used against us.'"

"SAPL has long been concerned that the plant does not enact stringent enough safety measures to protect the public from more normal threats, such as heavy weather events. The threat of terrorism at these sites is real; that's not an overstatement. And it's not an overreaction to ask the plant operators to take extreme precautions to protect, in any way possible, the public from a potentially great harm," says SAPL President David Hills.

On behalf of SAPL, Horrigan requested that the Governor consider the following actions for Seabrook station.

1. Deploy National Guard units with sufficient anti-terrorism training and weaponry to protect the Seabrook plant from terrorist attacks from the ground, air, and water.
2. Implement a "No-Fly Zone" in the power plant's general vicinity;
3. Conduct thorough background checks of all plant employees and outside suppliers.
4. Review the protection of radioactive waste materials stored on the plant site and call for any necessary security improvements.
5. Review adequacy of the current evacuation plan and require stockpiling of Potassium Iodide in schools, receiving areas, and pharmacies within the so-called "10 mile radius" around the Seabrook plant.
6. Require that the plant be in either a stand-down or shutdown mode during a terrorist threat;
7. Require that all bidders for the purchase of the Seabrook plant provide evidence of their capability to protect the plant from the threat of terrorism.

The letter concluded by saying that SAPL stands ready to discuss its 'Seven-Point Program' with the governor and her newly appointed New Hampshire anti-terrorism commission and expressed SAPL's desire to be in contact regarding the matter very soon.