Too Close to Home

Sometimes the parallels you see in another industry are scary.

” The NRC is reviewing its own oversight procedures, having failed to heed Beal's warning.“


”In a slide presentation he made to watchdog groups last year, he said nuclear plant owners have pressed so hard for lower costs that "we are now 'down to the bone' "... “


”The company has a history of bad relations with its workers, which some experts say could undermine security procedures. “


”"Wackenhut's track record shows no regard for the welfare of their workforce or for public safety," “


”In 2005, the inspector general said that at the NNSA's Oak Ridge site, Wackenhut had routinely worked security personnel more than the 60-hour-a-week maximum permitted there.“

Let’s see...we’ve got the regulators ignoring the problem. We’ve got the industry trying to blame the union...even though the inspector general says the same thing as the union. What is missing ? Oh yeah, the “but we’re already in the process of fixing the problem” defense.

” The heightened crisis for Wackenhut's nuclear operations comes just as the head of that unit, Wilson, has been trying to change the industry's approach to security and improve Wackenhut operations.“

Gee, I wonder which will get us first ? An airplane crash or a terrorist attack on a nuclear facility ? Or something else this Administration has let slide ?

You can read the whole thing at The Washington Post.

Video of Sleeping Guards Shakes Nuclear Industry

Don Brown
January 4, 2007