Helping Secure Our Nuclear Plants
If you don't think public access makes us safer, just ask a few dozen nuclear plant security guards who because of disclosure about work conditions now have a safer plant. Security guards complained about the long hours they were putting in to increase security, but government officials dismissed the guards' complaints. While published media reports were highlighting the nuclear facilities' enormous threat to human lives in worst-case accidents, security guards complained to government officials to no avail about their long hours to increase security. The Project on Government Oversight, a watchdog organization based in Washington, DC, set up meetings with officials at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission where security guards told stories of how fatigue made them ill-prepared to defend the plants. Only then did government officials recognize the safety problems created by an under-trained and over-tired security workforce and decide to reduce workload and strengthen training for security guards. Resources: