Introduction

The nuclear accident at Chernobyl in April 1986 reawoke the world to the dangers of nuclear power. That accident may ultimately result in the death of thousands of Soviet citizens, hundreds of thousands of cancers, leukemias and birth defects around the world, and thousands of acres of land permanently ruined. [1]

Chernobyl was caused in part by human error, as was the Three Mile Island accident in 1979. [2] According to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), human error is involved in virtually all nuclear accidents. [3]

Thus, reducing human error is essential to reducing the risk of nuclear power plant accidents. Clearly, drug and alcohol abuse has effects on human judgement and reaction and can therefore increase the chance of an accident at a nuclear power plant. According to the NRC, "certain personnel could become unfit for duty due to the effects of substances such as alcohol or drugs and, thereby, could perform actions that might adversely impact the health and safety of the public." [4]

The NRC, however, has yet to adequately address this threat.

Drug Abuse on the Rise

The number of drug abuse "events" recorded by the NRC is increasing. From 1980 to the end of 1985, the NRC recorded 111 drug abuse events, and each year the number has increased. From 1980 to 1981, the reported number almost tripled, and by the end of 1985, it had increased six-fold. [5] In 1985, the NRC recorded at least 30 such events.

These numbers are in themselves misleading because each "event" may involve a dozen or more people. The word "event," as used in NRC documents, can mean anything from a security guard smelling marijuana smoke to an investigation netting dozens of people for possession and sale of LSD and cocaine. (See the appendix for a listing of drug abuse "events" recorded by the NRC at nuclear power plants.)

The NRC is fully aware of these statistics. (See chart, p. 5) In 1982, the agency stated that "the number of drug-related incidents has increased dramatically," [6] and called the trend "alarming." [7] Since then, the annual number of drug-related events recorded by the NRC has doubled. [8]

For example:

During construction of the Seabrook nuclear power plant in Seabrook, New Hampshire, 289 workers were fired for drug and alcohol abuse according to New Hampshire Yankee President Edward

Brown. [9] Forty-four other workers were cited for drug and alcohol abuse. [10] Further, a 1980 hospital autopsy report stated that one worker at Seabrook died after drinking liquor on the job with co-workers. [11]

In 1986, an undercover operation by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation resulted in the arrest of eight Shearon Harris nuclear power plant workers. However, a sheriff's deputy involved in the investigation testified that he saw at least 100 persons using drugs, and suspected over 100 others, although he was only on duty for one shift over a two-month period. He made his first drug purchase within an hour and a half of his arrival on the site. [12]

In June 1985, an undercover drug investigation at the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in Avila Beach, California resulted in the arrest of nine employees. The workers were charged with felony sale of cocaine, marijuana and amphetamines. [13]

In May 1985, six employees at the Palo Verde nuclear power plant in Wintersburg Arizona were arrested for selling cocaine to an undercover officer. Thirteen others were fired for drug use discovered during the investigation. [14]

In February 1984, at the Limerick nuclear power plant 20 miles from Philadelphia, a plant employee was found lying unconscious with drug paraphenalia near his body. [15]

In February 1981, at the Zion nuclear power plant in Zion, Illinois, two employees were arrested and charged with possession and use of drugs. There were indications that the employees had been using drugs while on the job. [16]

Abuse is Wide-Spread

According to the NRC, nuclear employees are using numerous types of drugs, and abuse is wide-spread. For instance, an NRC memo reported the use of speed (amphetamines -- a stimulant), angel dust (phencyclidine, or PCP -- a dangerous drug that has both stimulant and depressant effects as well as being a halucinogenic and a painkiller), quaaludes (methaqualone -- a sedative and hypnotic), cocaine, hashish, well as marijuana and alcohol. [17] Drug abuse cases have also involved LSD. [18]

The memo also reported that drug-related incidents occur at power plants in all regions of the country, and involve "construction, operations and security" personnel at all levels.

[19]

There are cases, for example, of senior reactor operators the workers in the control room who must closely monitor plant conditions and react quickly to emergency situations -- using drugs:

Source:

NRC CHART SHOWS "ALARMING" INCREASE IN REPORTED

DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE AT NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Reprinted from Safeguards

Summary Event List, Nureg-0525, Rev. 12, p. A-14, Jan. 2, 1987.

At the Oyster Creek plant in New Jersey, a senior reactor operator was suspended for drug use in September 1986. [20]

At the Grand Gulf plant in Mississippi in 1985, an operator smoked marijuana on the plant site with a security officer and a site fireman. [21]

At the same plant in 1981, a senior reactor operator was arrested and charged with drug possession. [22]

Also in 1981, an operator trainee was arrested on the site of the Sequoyah nuclear power plant in Tennessee for the sale of drugs. [23]

At the Trojan nuclear power plant in Oregon, an investigation in 1979 resulted in the arrest of 13 employees, including a reactor operator, for the use of cocaine and the trafficking of marijuana and amphetamines. [24]

Other workers using drugs can cause safety problems as well. At the Shearon Harris plant, near Durham, North Carolina, a quality assurance weld inspector was fired in 1982 for drug use while the plant was under construction. Weld defects were later found when 187 earthquake pipe supports with which he had been involved were reinspected. [25]

In addition, there are numerous events in which security guards have been fired for using drugs. These guards are assigned to protect sensitive nuclear components from sabotage and to prevent the theft of dangerous radioactive materials. Breaches of security, however, occur frequently. [26]

NRC records turned up numerous cases of drug abuse by security guards. For instance:

At the Surry and North Anna nuclear power plants, located in Gravel Neck, and Mineral, Virginia, respectively, thirteen Virginia Power employees, including the security supervisor, were dismissed for marijuana use in October 1986. [27]

The

At the Salem nuclear power plant in Salem, New Jersey, in May 1984 a medicine bottle with a small cellophane pouch containing a white powdery substance and a straw about an inch long was found at the entrance to the containment building. label on the bottle indicated it had been issued to the guard who was guarding the entrance at the time. The guard denied possession, refused to take polygraph and drug tests, and was fired. [28]

In March 1984, at the Dresden nuclear power plant in Morris, Illinois, a supervisor smelled marijuana smoke coming from a guard shack. The guards were asked to submit to a urinalysis, but refused and were fired. [29]

In December 1982, at the Beaver Valley plant in

Shippingport, Pennsylvania, a security guard was caught rolling a marijuana cigarette. The cigarette was confiscated and the guard was fired. [30]

The appendix contains a list of over 120 confirmed drug abuse incidents for the years 1977 through 1985, with some additional abuse that occurred in 1986.

NRC Numbers Are Only the "Tip of the Iceberg"

These numbers, however, tell only a part of the story. The NRC admits that the reported incidents are indicative of a much larger problem. According to the NRC, the agency's statistics on drug abuse are "just the tip of the iceberg." [31] The nuclear industry itself calls nuclear power plant drug abuse "prevalent." [32]

The full extent of the problem is unknown because the NRC has no comprehensive system for learning of and recording drugabuse cases. Likewise, the agency does not keep records of alcohol use by utility employees and contractors. [33]

Confirmed drug-abuse incidents are reported by the NRC in a catch-all document -- Safeguards Summary Event List (SSEL) -which also lists, among other things, bomb threats, arson, sabotage and cases of missing radioactive material. [34]

According to the NRC, the events in the SSEL are informally gleaned from a variety of sources, and reporting is voluntary. [35] Utilities are not required to report drug use or incidents involving drug abuse to the NRC. Moreover, since a large number of such reports would probably prompt greater NRC scrutiny, utilities may have an incentive to not report drug abuse. According to the NRC, the SSELS "do not represent the totality of the problem." [36]

For instance, 289 employees have been fired at the Seabrook nuclear power plant in New Hampshire, and 44 additional workers implicated in drug cases. [37] During the eleven years Seabrook has been under construction, however, the NRC recorded only one drug-abuse incident involving the firing of twelve workers in 1980. [38] Likewise, North Carolina Attorney General Lacy Thornburg confirmed that at least 218 workers were fired for drugs at the Shearon Harris nuclear power plant during its construction. Yet NRC records contain just three cases involving seventeen employees. [39]

Incredibly, NRC records contain just 111 drug-related incidences at all nuclear power plants since 1976 when the agency began counting. [40]

The NRC agrees that its records are grossly incomplete. According to NRC Senior Safeguards Specialist Loren Bush: "If the industry reported every positive [drug] test, we would have