Anti-terrorism and confidential information

Nuke plant operators hush-hush on anti-terrorism measures

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/politics/AJ201402050055

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

Operators of nuclear power plants say they are restricting media access to some important facilities as part of efforts to thwart terrorist attacks.

Tougher safety standards for nuclear plants that went into effect last July in the aftermath of the 2011 nuclear disaster in Fukushima Prefecture include measures to deal with the threat of terrorist strikes.

Another factor is the controversial state secrets protection law that will take effect later this year. The utilities are keen to duck any criticism that they are allowing any confidential security information to be disclosed.

In many cases, the restrictions to information disclosure go beyond what nuclear regulators have said should be kept under wraps.

The new standards require that plant operators install filtered venting equipment designed to lower pressure and filter radioactive substances in the event of serious accidents. That scenario also envisages a 9/11-style terrorist attack using aircraft.

As 2013 came to a close, Tokyo Electric Power Co. decided to deny media access to venting equipment at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture. Although reporters were previously allowed to observe part of the installation process of venting equipment connected to the reactor containment vessel, the equipment will remain off-limits to the media from now.

During a Dec. 18 meeting, the Nuclear Regulation Authority decided that it will not publicize information about the alignment of equipment when it conducts inspections of the safety measures implemented by plant operators.

"Releasing alignment maps could provide a source of information for terrorists," said an official with the NRA secretariat.

TEPCO officials said their decision to keep the venting equipment off-limits to the media was in line with the NRA's thinking on the matter.

However, a secretariat official pointed to the differences between inspections in which very specific details may emerge and media coverage and visits.

"The NRA defined the handling of information during inspections," the official said. "We never intended for the decision to allow for the covering up of information in relation to media coverage and visits to the plants."

On Dec. 20, Chubu Electric Power Co. allowed media representatives to observe installation work of venting equipment at its Hamaoka nuclear power plant in Shizuoka Prefecture. Reporters were told not to specify the exact location of a 36-meter-deep underground chamber in their articles.

"Please be careful of the angle of your photos," a utility employee also told the gathered media.

The company said that the venting equipment could become off-limits to the media in the future.

Similar media restrictions were made by Chugoku Electric Power Co. last autumn at its Shimane nuclear plant.

When Tohoku Electric Power Co. was installing venting equipment at its nuclear plant last May, it prohibited photographs of the construction and instead provided media organizations with its own photos. In another area, digital cameras brought in by reporters were checked to ensure that no security cameras were included in the shots.

That was a time when discussions were being held on the extent of anti-terrorism measures to be included in the new nuclear safety standards.

"From the standpoint of safety control, we cannot even disclose what types of information are being subject to restrictions," said an official with Hokkaido Electric Power Co.

The nuclear plant operators are also wrestling with how to handle the emergency control rooms that would allow for remote-controlled cooling of reactors. Those rooms were also included in the new safety standards.

Much like the venting equipment, the emergency control rooms will be vital in the event of a serious accident.

The utilities have not yet begun construction of the control rooms and they have not yet decided whether to open such work to the media.

Officials of the electric power companies have also touched upon the state secrets protection law that will go into effect in late 2014.

"If photographing and opening up the plant site to the media is subsequently banned, we would be unable to retract what we have already made available," said a senior official with Chubu Electric. "It would be the electric power companies that would be held responsible should any problem occur. For that reason, we have to aggressively protect our facilities."

One expert said the utilities were taking the opposite course of their Western counterparts.

"Ordinarily, information about safety measures at nuclear plants should be aggressively released. In the West, information is disclosed about the extent to which the plants are being protected to show what is being done to prevent terrorism," said Kenichi Oshima, a professor of environmental economics at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto.

"The equipment will not become stronger just because the information is made confidential," he said. "If such information was kept secret, the concerns of residents would increase because they would not know what measures were being implemented."

(This article was written by So Ouchi, Gento Shibui and Takeshi Narabe.)