Three Mile Island Alert, 4100 Hillsdale Rd, Harrisburg PA 17112 ~~ 717-541-1101 ~~ tmia@tmia.com
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The Aircraft Threat
at Nuclear Plants
"Al Qaeda shows a
continued
fixation with
using
explosive-laden
small aircraft in
attacks."
Department of Homeland Security
May 2003 advisory
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Three Mile Island is located only 2.5 miles from the Harrisburg International Airport. The containment
building for Reactor #1 was designed to withstand the impact of a 200,000lb aircraft flying at *******
(speed deliberately withheld).
NRC Admits Plants Are Not Designed To Withstand Impacts From Modern Jets
Modern jets are much heavier than the 727 jet considered for TMI's reactor building design. The jets that
flew into the World Trade Center were flying faster than the speed accounted for by TMI design engineers.
The claims by public relations officials that TMI is protected from aircraft attack is questionable at best.
Any nuclear plant is vulnerable to aircraft attack. The resulting fires could cause multiple failures of
safety systems leading to a catastrophic release.
The Nuclear Energy Institute (lobbyist and best friend of the nuclear power industry) commissioned a study on aircraft impacts on containment buildings (reactor buildings) after 9-11.
The study concluded that jumbo jets flying at the speed of the first jet to hit the World Trade Center will not penetrate the containment building.
They did not comment on the second jet to hit the WTC flying at 550 mph, but used the first jet's speed of 350 mph. The conclusions are deceptive and do not account for the fires which would result from such an impact.
Furthermore, the containment building is not the only building from where a meltdown can be triggered. The crash and fire at other buildings
can lead to a disastrous radiological release or meltdown.
The NRC commissioned a study in 1982 of jet crashes at nuclear plants. It stated that a commercial airline crash into a
power plant could "lead to a rather violent explosion" with a "direct release of radioactivity." If only one percent of the fuel, say 500 lb for a FB-111 fighter plane, is involved in such an event, the blast environment will be equivalent to the detonation of approximately 1,000 lb of TNT.
"The NRC did not specifically contemplate attacks by aircraft such as Boeing 757s or 767s and nuclear power plants were not
designed to withstand such crashes. Detailed engineering analyses of a large airliner crash have not yet been performed."
"The NRC recognizes that aircraft crashes may result in multiple-failure initiating events, and that non-safety system malfunctions could contribute to such events."
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In 1993, TMI Alert's security consultant Scott Portzline presented video to the NRC showing how an airplane could be used to attack a nuclear plant. The video showed how easy it was to identify each building from the air.
A few months later, NRC Chairman Ivan Selin was asked about airplane attacks on nuclear plants by a reporter.
"...You wouldn't probably not even have to put any explosives on it... They're not top on anybody's list of
places terrorists would normally attack." (NRC press conference 7/7/1993)
TOPICS
"We left out nuclear plants for now."
Flight #11 Flew Over New York's Indian Point Reactor
Was Flight #93 Headed For Three Mile Island?
F-16s Scramble to Protect TMI
FBI Warns of Attacks on Nuclear Plants
Palo Verde Reactors Targeted
Attack Highly Likely Within Next Five Years
Homeland Security Warns of Cargo Jet Attacks
Air Defense for Nuclear Plants is Depleted
Drunken Pilot Invades Airspace
TMI Alert's Recommendation
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the al-Qaida military co-ordinator and 9-11 mastermind originally planned to attack nuclear plants.
"About two and a half years before the holy raids on Washington and New York, the military committee held a meeting during which we decided to start planning for a martyrdom operation inside America. As we were discussing targets, we first thought of striking at a couple of nuclear facilities but decided against it for fear it would go out of control."
"You do not need to know more than that at this stage, and anyway it was
eventually decided to leave out nuclear targets for now."
American Airlines Flight #11 flew right over New York's Indian Point nuclear power plant before striking the WTC north tower. Many citizens and elected officials are calling for the shutdown of the plant because of inadequate evacuation plans.
"Our world is different and everything has changed. We need to keep that in mind when planning for the future. What was once deemed sufficient is no longer adequate. The current system is not able to protect the population from an unacceptable dose of radiation."
Former FEMA Director James Lee Witt
On Evacuation Plans for the
Indian Point Reactor near NY City
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There is some evidence to suggest that Flight #93 was headed for Three Mile Island. Initially the FBI
investigated that possibility based on a tip from British intelligence. The overall direction (vector) of the hijacked jet
was directed at Washington D.C.. Al Qaeda operatives taken in to
custody have told investigators that Flight #93 was supposed to hit a target in Washington D.C..
On October 17th 2001, an e-mail threat from Al Qaeda operatives in Spain stated that Three Mile
Island would be hit with an explosive laden plane later that evening. The threat said someone
working at the plant would disable the cooling system at the same time.
F-16 fighter jets were scrambled to orbit the plant. The airspace around Harrisburg was shutdown
for nearly four hours. The threat was determined to be "not credible" and airspace was reopened.
The public was not made aware of these events until later (except for the roar of jet engines). Local officials were also left in the dark and were angered by the lack of communication.
On November 11th 2001, eight Al Qaeda operatives who helped organize the 9-11 attacks were arrested in Spain. One was an aeronautical engineer.
January 30 2002, US intelligence sources warn that terrorists are planning an attack on a U.S. nuclear power plant. They have indications that a truck bomb or airline attack on a nuclear power plant or other U.S. nuclear facility, such as a weapons storage depot, is designed to cause mass casualties and spread deadly radiological debris.
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On or around March 19, 2003 intelligence reports indicated that the nation's largest nuclear power plant complex
was being targeted. The Palo Verde nuclear plant is located about 50 miles west of Phoenix Arizona.
The National Guard was deployed to the facility while a Black Hawk helicopter patrolled the airspace.
A nearby elementary school conducted a sheltering drill.
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A July 2002 National Resource Council report titled "Making The Nation Safer" states that
the potential for 9-11 type attacks on spent nuclear fuel storage at nuclear power plants in the next five is high.
"Nuclear power plants may present a tempting high-visibility target for terrorist attack, and the potential for a September 11-type surprise attack in the near term using U.S. assets such as airplanes appears to be high. Such attacks could potentially have severe consequences if the attack were large enough and, were such an attack successfully carried out, could do great harm to the nation's near-term energy security and civilian nuclear power as a long-term energy option."
"Complete denial of the means to attack [nuclear power plants] from the air or ground using U.S. assets such as aircraft is probably not feasible."
"Given the public fear of anything 'nuclear' or 'radioactive,' even a minor terrorist attack could have greatly magnified psychological and economic consequences."
On November 7th, 2003 the Homeland Security Department warned law-enforcement officers that Al Qaeda may be plotting to hijack
cargo jets in Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean and fly them into American nuclear
power plants.
As a result of the November 7th 2003 warning by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security,
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton requested combat air patrols over New York state’s nuclear power plants. Representative James Walsh told reporters that patrols had been executed in the past by
the 174th Fighter Wing, based out of central New York, but that the unit was depleted at the time. The fighter wing was in Iraq.
Representative Walsh said "There isn’t anyone here to fly those missions right
now because we have limited assets. I just can’t see them flying over Ginna. Maybe
Senator Clinton has some other groups in mind."
Finger Lake Times 11/13/03
On January 16 2004, a 44 year old Pennsylvania man flew his small private plane into restricted airspace during a four hour drunken joy ride. He flew over the Philadelphia International Airport as commercial
jetliners were diverted. Then he flew to Atlantic City and Ocean City New Jersey. Twice he tried to land at an airport in NJ but could not locate the runway.
Then he flew to the Philadelphia International Airport where a corporate jet on
final approach had to take evasive action. A Philadelphia Police helicopter
then tried to escort him to another airport to land.
But he flew back to Montgomery County where he again tried to land but
couldn't find the runway. He then headed toward the Limerick nuclear
power plant and the chopper cut him off, nearly colliding.
They convinced him to return to the local airport where he made a bumpy
landing. That's where local police finally grabbed him.
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TMI Alert's Recommendation
Deploy the Phalanx Close-In Weapon System at Three Mile Island
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The Raytheon Phalanx Close in Weapon System can handle a wide range of threats
and avoids the problems associated with surface to air missiles.
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The Phalanx Close-In Weapon System is a rapid-fire, computer-controlled,
radar-guided gun system designed to defeat air threats. It is the only practical measure which offers such sophisticated around the clock protection. TMI Alert believes that the Phalanx air defense system is cheaper, safer and more reliable than any other means of protection.
The computerized radar system can determine if an aircraft's flight path termination point is at the reactor site. If such a determination is made, operating personnel can verify the approaching threat and destroy it shortly before striking the plant. The system would be ideal to use next to a busy airport because of its advanced analysis capabilities.
It is the ideal shield for nuclear plants since it would be available 24 hours a day and able to determine a real threat from a passing or lost aircraft.
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The Phalanx system solves the problems associated with surface to air missiles which are now deployed around other major cities. Missiles can lock onto aircraft other than the intended target. The Phalanx system uses 20mm bullets to destroy incoming threats and is currently used on U.S. Navy vessels.
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This page updated by Three Mile Island Alert January 2004
Three Mile Island Alert, 4100 Hillsdale Rd, Harrisburg PA 17112 ~~ 717-541-1101 ~~ tmia@tmia.com
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