The potential for terrorist strikes on nuclear facilities

Publication date: January 2003

Summary
Governments have known since the 1990's that terrorists have regarded nuclear power plants as potential targets. Since intelligence reports that the fourth hijacked plane involved in the September 11th attacks on the United States may have been heading for the nuclear plant at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, this concern has increased. The UK Office of Civil Nuclear Security (part of the Department of Trade and Industry) have now had to admit that nuclear power plants are possible terrorist targets. The most likely scenarios for an attack range from insider sabotage or theft of nuclear materials to outside invasion or assault on a nuclear reactor or waste store.

Overall, the nuclear industry defends its plants against natural and accidental incidents on the basis of 'as chance would have it' and it provides protection against human error by designing the systems and equipment to be tolerant and/or independent of human action (or inaction). This approach may have some effect in safeguarding the plant against accidents and unintentional human error but it could prove woefully ineffective against intentional and intelligently driven acts of terrorism.