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1 1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> 'Meeting Date: April 2, 2002 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. -d <br /> SUBJECT: Symposium on Initiating Regional Planning to Address Potential Terrorist <br /> Attacks on Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facilities at the Shearon Harris Nuclear <br /> Power Plant <br /> DEPARTMENT: County Manager PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> Draft Press Release Paul Thames, County Engineer, ext 2300 <br /> Draft Invitation Letter <br /> TELEPHONE NUMBERS: <br /> Hillsborough 732-8181 <br /> Chapel Hill 968-4501 <br /> Durham 688-7331 <br /> Mebane 336-227-2031 <br /> PURPOSE: To provide for a BOCC discussion and decision on co-hosting a public symposium <br /> to discuss the likelihood of a terrorist attack at the Shearon Harris power plant, emergency <br /> planning for such an event and strategies that would significantly reduce the probability and <br /> consequences of such an event. <br /> BACKGROUND: Orange County has an ongoing interest in the storage of spent nuclear fuel <br /> rods (in four"temporary" spent fuel storage pools) at Carolina Power& Light's (CP&L) Shearon <br /> Harris nuclear power plant. Since early 1999, the County has been involved in a regulatory <br /> proceeding related to an amendment to the Shearon Harris operating permit that would provide <br /> an increased storage capacity (by increasing both the storage area and storage density) for <br /> spent fuel at the plant. This regulatory proceeding has actually been a type of lawsuit <br /> (designated as an "intervention") against the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff to <br /> block the agency from issuing a permit amendment without first conducting a full blown <br /> environmental assessment (Environment Impact Statement or EIS)for the project. The <br /> outcome of the intervention process is currently under review by the US Court of Appeals. <br /> To date, the NRC has refused to allow potential acts of insanity or terrorism to be evaluated as <br /> a threat to nuclear power plant facilities (reactors or spent fuel storage facilities), ostensibly <br /> because the mathematical probabilities for such threats could not or cannot be statistically <br /> quantified or analyzed. However, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 have shown that <br /> such attacks of tremendous impact and consequence are not unthinkable or even unlikely. <br /> Furthermore, government activities in the recent "war on terrorism" have exposed evidence that <br /> there is real and credible evidence that worldwide terrorist organizations have done at least <br /> some planning to target nuclear power plants within the United States. <br />