Security at nuclear plants

There is a limit on how much money can be invested in nuclear plant security and still produce power economically.

As the Nuclear Regulatory Commission mulls security needs for nuclear power plants across the nation, we hope common sense prevails.

Although experts consider chances of a terrorist attack on a nuclear plant to be remote, the NRC is debating whether to change safety rules, including those at South Carolina facilities such as the Catawba Nuclear Station on Lake Wylie. Regulators worry particularly about an attack on the dry cask storage units used to hold spent fuel.

Spent fuel is stored at least five years in water until it has cooled sufficiently and the radioactivity has decreased enough to move it. It then is transferred to thick concrete casks on the plant site.

If rules are changed, operators would have to be able to ensure that the potential dose of radiation caused by an attack would not exceed 5 rems — about double the dose of a chest X-ray. The question is what might be required to be able to meet that standard.

Razor-wire fences, barriers and some security personnel seem reasonable. But adding an armed guard to repel a potential attack seems excessive.

There is a limit on how much money can be invested in nuclear plant security and still produce power economically. The amount of security also should be proportional to the real risk, not the most outlandish sceanrio.

Nuclear plant security also should be viewed in a national context. The best security measure would be to establish a national repository for spent fuel that could be adequately protected from an attack.

The plan to ship spent fuel to Yucca Mountain in Nevada has stalled, largely because of local opposition. But an alternative to on-site storage of spent fuel is crucial.

President Obama, in his recent State of the Union speech, indicated that he is fully supportive of federal financial support for new nuclear nuclear plants. Even many environmentalists now view nuclear as part of the potential mix of clearner power sources.

Any new nuclear plants still are years away from being licensed and built. But the nation should have a sensible security plan.