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Summary:
Protection of nuclear power plants from terrorist attack has become a current concern in light of the September 11 attacks. Assault by land from armed terrorists, and the threat of crashing a hijacked airliner into a reactor, are possibilities being studied as regulations and protection measures are reviewed and revised. Several bills to increase nuclear power security measures and requirements were introduced in the 107th Congress, but none passed. Similar legislation has been introduced in the 108th Congress, and some provisions were included in the Energy Omnibus bill (H.R. 6) passed by the House April 11, 2003. This report will be updated as events warrant. Nuclear power plants have long been recognized as potential targets of terrorist attacks, and critics have long questioned the adequacy of the measures required of nuclear plant operators to defend against such attacks. Following the September 11, 2001, attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) activated its Emergency Response Center and advised all plant operators to go to the highest level of security alert. NRC also began a "top-to-bottom" review of its security requirements. On February 26, 2002, the agency issued "interim compensatory security measures" to deal with the "generalized high-level threat environment" that continued to exist, and on April 29, 2003, it issued three regulatory orders to all licensed nuclear power plants that formally set regulatory changes to meet the security threat.
