Making nuclear power plants crash-proof to an airliner attack by terrorists is impracticable, and it is up to the military to avert such an assault, the US government said on Monday.
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), in a revised security policy, directed nuclear plant operators to focus on preventing radiation from escaping in case of such an attack and to improve evacuation plans to protect public health and safety.
"The active protection against airborne threats is addressed by other federal organizations, including the military," the NRC said in a statement.
The agency rejected calls by some nuclear watchdog groups that the government establish firm no-fly zones near reactors or that plant operators build "lattice-like" barriers to protect reactors, or be required to have anti-aircraft weapons on site to shoot down an incoming plane.
The NRC, in a summary of the mostly secret security plan, said such proposals were examined, but it was concluded the "active protection" against an airborne threat rests with organizations such as the military or the Federal Aviation Administration.
It said various mitigation strategies already required of plant operators, such as radiation protection measures and evacuation plans, "are sufficient to ensure adequate protection of the public health and safety."
The commission unanimously approved the plan in a 5-0 vote at a brief meeting without discussion.
It has been the subject of internal discussions for 15 months.
The defense plan, formally known as the Design Basis Threat, spells out what type of attack force the government believes might target a commercial power reactor and what its operator must be capable of defending against.
While details are sketchy because of security considerations, the plan requires defense against a relatively small force, perhaps no more than a half-dozen attackers, even should they attack from multiple directions including by water, and use suicide attackers.
The plan, which formally approves many of the procedures that long have been in place, reflects the increased concerns raised by the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the US.
Some members of Congress and nuclear watchdog groups have argued that the requirements fall short of what is needed.
Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer, chairwoman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said the NRC appeared not to have followed the direction of Congress "to ensure that our nuclear power plants are protected from air- or land-based terrorist threats" of the magnitude demonstrated on Sept. 11, 2001.
The NRC "has missed an opportunity to provide the public with a real solution to the nuclear reactor security problem," Democratic Representative Edward Markey said.
Daniel Hirsch, president of the Community to Bridge the Gap, a California-based nuclear watchdog group that had urged the NRC to require physical barriers to keep planes from hitting reactors, called the security measures "irresponsible to the extreme."
"Rather than upgrading protections, [the NRC plan] merely codifies the status quo, reaffirming the existing, woefully inadequate security measures already in place at the nation's reactors," Hirsch said.
NRC officials have emphasized that the defense plan should require what is "reasonable" to be expected of a civilian security force at the 103 commercial nuclear power reactors.
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