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                             Politics Headlines

   Sources:  [20]Reuters  |  [21]AP  |  [22]ABCNEWS.com

   Thursday November 29 7:07 PM ET

Democrats Want Nuke Plant Guards to Be Federal Workers

   By Chris Baltimore

   WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic lawmakers in both houses of the U.S.
   Congress unveiled legislation on Thursday to bolster nuclear power
   plant security by requiring guards at the nation's 103 plants to become
   federal employees with more extensive screening and training.

   If enacted, the House and Senate bills would require the Nuclear
   Regulatory Commission (NRC) to enact tough new security measures such
   as extensive background checks for guards and the preparation of plans
   to handle military-style attacks.

   Senate sponsors of the bill did not say how much it would cost to
   convert guards at the 103 commercial plants into federal employees.
   Congress recently voted to adopt a similar approach with security
   inspectors at commercial U.S. airports.

   The NRC has previously said it is unsure whether U.S. nuclear power
   plants could withstand the crash of a large airliner, such as the ones
   hijacked for the Sept. 11 attacks. Nuclear power reactors are typically
   enclosed in concrete walls of up to 4.5 feet (1.35 meters) thick.

   Senate Democrats Harry Reid of Nevada, Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut
   and Hillary Clinton of New York are sponsoring the Senate version of
   the bill, as part of the anti-terrorism effort following the Sept. 11
   attacks on the United States.

   In the House, the bill is championed by Massachusetts Democrat Edward
   Markey, a long-time critic of current nuclear plant safety.

   ``Congress must act to protect the American people from a potential
   nuclear disaster that could be more devastating than Chernobyl,'' he
   said, noting that Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network has reportedly
   targeted nuclear plants for attack.

   Markey's bill also would require states to stockpile potassium iodide
   within 200 miles of nuclear facilities. The drug is ``the Cipro for
   nuclear disaster and can prevent thousands of cases of thyroid cancer
   due to radioactive exposure,'' he said.

   The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), the industry's main lobbying arm,
   said that plants already have enough safeguards.

   The nuclear industry group called the legislation a ''political
   response to a problem that does not exist'' and noted that plants are
   already guarded by ``paramilitary'' employees who are armed and
   well-trained.

   Nuclear power watchdog groups have urged stricter security such as
   soldiers and missiles stationed at each nuclear power plant.

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