USEC RAMPING DOWN SITE SECURITY
WC Monitor
2/21/2014
In changes to its security approach at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, USEC this week laid off security guards and de-manned a security checkpoint on an access road. USEC has been in the process of winding down its role at Paducah after it decided to end enrichment operations beginning last summer and the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management is in the midst of a new procurement for deactivation services at the site. “Starting this week, security at the site will transition to a non-production posture that better matches the current activity level. These steps are part of the overall process of adjusting plant operations to the cessation of enrichment,” USEC spokesman Paul Jacobson said in a statement.
He stressed that the ramp down in security would not leave the site more vulnerable. “Key security controls will remain in place and USEC will continue to provide robust protection for nuclear material, classified material and information as well as the plant’s physical and proprietary assets. We will continue to have a sizable contingent of well-trained security officers on payroll going forward,” Jacobson said.
USEC has said it has notified 110 workers of potential layoffs in February, but the company declined to say this week how many security guards will be laid off this month. According to local reports, 44 security workers have been laid off. “We did expect there were going to be reductions in our department, unfortunately, the reductions turned out to be deeper than what we thought,” USEC security worker Ryan Brown told Paducah news station WPSD. Brown expressed concern about the newly unmanned security checkpoint on the plant access road.
USEC: After Turnover, Security DOE’s Responsibility
USEC said that its security changes were approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Department of Energy. “This checkpoint is located well outside the fenced portion of the facility. The DOE reservation is 3,500 acres and the fenced portion of the plant is 750 acres. This checkpoint is well outside the fenced area and it is not part of a fenced boundary. Security controls remain in place for anyone entering the plant’s fenced perimeter or controlled access area,” Jacobson said. He added later: “Over the next several months, USEC will return the leased plant facilities to DOE. At that point, as the plant’s owner, DOE will be exclusively responsible for determining how the site will be protected.”
