Government Sent Confidential Memo to Nuclear Power Plants Across U.S. Last Week
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: CNN has learned the government sent a confidential memo to nuclear power plants across the U.S. last week, warning of plans of a possible terrorist attack. From the Seabrooke nuclear plant in New Hampshire. With more on this story, here's Bill Delaney watching things there in the northeast. Bill, good afternoon.</s>BILL DELANEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon to you, Bill. We are at the Seabrooke nuclear power plant in Seabrooke, New Hampshire, about 45 miles north of Boston, a power plant like all 103 in the country that's already been on highest alert status since 9-11. Having increased their perimeter security, it is much more hard for the public to get access to nuclear plants than it ever was before, and a nasty day up here, but Allen Griffith, the spokesman for the Seabrooke power plant has been generous enough to come out and spend a little time with us. Allen, Bill Hemmer just mentioned this January 23rd memo from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. What do you make of that?</s>ALLEN GRIFFITH, SEABROOKE NUCLEAR PLANT: Well, I think more than anything, it is a reminder that since 9-11, we live in a different time, dangerous times we live in, and it underscores more than ever the importance of us remaining vigilant, and ensuring that we have a safe and secure facility here at Seabrooke.</s>DELANEY: You've had some 20 special advisories from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission since 9-11, how serious do you take this one?</s>GRIFFITH: This specific advisory was categorized as not credible, as not specific. However, every single kind of bit of information that comes to us is taken very, very seriously.</s>DELANEY: Now this involved a FBI agent debriefing, a senior Al Qaeda officer, and this in the past over the past few months, this Al Qaeda operative saying there were suggestions at least among the Al Qaeda people about crashing a commercial jet into a nuclear power plant. How vulnerable would Seabrooke be?</s>GRIFFITH: We are confident that the nuclear industry at Seabrooke statin in particular, have extremely safe designs. Here at Seabrooke, we literally have a dome-within-a-dome concept. The structures at all nuclear power plants in this country are extremely strong. They are made of steel-reinforced concrete, and in fact the structures of domestic nuclear power plants are considered some of the strongest manmade structures in the world. We are confident that that attack could be reeled.</s>DELANEY: Critics say what we worry about is the fuel, the radioactive substance of any nuclear reactor, that if water was super heated by a crash, it could cease to cool the spent fuel, causing it to ignite, causing a contaminate cloud. We're only 45 minutes from Boston. What about that?</s>GRIFFITH: Like the reactor, the reactor vessel, the spent fuel pool is considered a vital plant area. So because of that, it is extremely well protected. Again, we get back to the steel-reinforced concrete that surrounds the area, not to mention the fact that the spent fuel pool is underground, and it's an extremely difficult target, if you will. It's not identified clearly. It's a very small area. It's underground. It's protected by steel-reinforced concrete. So we are confident that it is well protected. Allen Griffith of the Seabrooke power plant here in Seabrooke, New Hampshire. Thanks very much for coming out on a very nasty day. Some reassurance there. At the same time, nuclear plant officials say they are taking even talk of a possible threat to nuclear power plants very seriously indeed. Back to you.</s>HEMMER: You got it, Bill. Thanks, Bill Delaney, reporting from there.