Perspective

Seven recommendations to improve TMI's nuclear plant security that have gone unheeded.

Security at Three Mile Island and nuclear generating stations across the nation need to build on lessons learned from 9/11. Three Mile Island Alert (TMIA) remains concerned that suggestions and recommendations made by citizens continue to fall on deaf ears. Charles W. Thurston's article ("A Dynamic Mission: Protecting Utility Assets," Public Utilities Fortnightly, June 15, 2002) gave the misleading impression that utilities have been at the vanguard of pioneering security measures at power plants. His article, which featured Three Mile Island, failed to capture the passive and penurious approach nuclear companies have historically taken toward security and emergency preparedness.

In fact, the containment building at Three Mile Island was "designed" to withstand an airplane crash from a 727 due [only] to public pressure. Environmentalists, and not TMI's owner, requested this modification during hearings convened by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).