Disregarding fire safety

Friday, July 4, 2008 | 2:05 a.m.

The nuclear power industry frequently complains that it is unsafe to store high-level nuclear waste at its generating plants. For example, utility companies that operate the plants and politicians they support claim the waste makes an inviting target for terrorists. They all argue that, for the sake of safety, the best solution is to dump the waste into a repository at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

Funny, but the industry and its congressional friends are lackadaisical when it comes to the lack of fire safety at nuclear power plants. They deserve to eat crow over a Government Accountability Office report, released Monday, that found the plants had failed to comply with Nuclear Regulatory Commission fire safety rules for more than 30 years. As the Associated Press reported, the auditor for Congress found that some plants use unapproved fire safety manuals, respond to fire damage with temporary fixes rather than permanent repairs, and cover electrical wires with protective wraps without testing the wraps to ensure they can withstand flames.

In the four years since the commission encouraged plant operators to pay more attention to fire prevention in the most vulnerable areas of their facilities, new safety measures have been implemented in only 46 of the nation’s 105 commercial nuclear reactors.

The industry ought to be embarrassed over such a poor record of compliance with federal fire regulations and recommendations. Plant operators need to get their own houses in order before they have standing to complain about the safety of nuclear waste.

While many politicians on Capitol Hill bow to the industry and its call for more nuclear power plants like a flock of sheep, it will be interesting to see whether any Senate or House members who take utility money have the spine to demand corrective action from plant operators that have thumbed their noses at fire safety.