Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, April 18, 1994 TAG: 9404180045
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Fort Worth Star-Telegram
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The company also provided blank letterhead stationery to the manufacturer of the material, which then used the stationery to write reports certifying the safety of the fire-barrier material, according to a guilty plea in federal court by the president of the company, Allan Siegel of Industrial Testing Laboratories Inc.
The phony certifications, which vouched that the material could slow the spread of fire and protect critical electrical systems, were used by utilities across the nation as proof to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that their plants could be shut down safely in an emergency.
The admission by Siegel and Industrial Testing Laboratories confirms long suspected problems with the testing of a fire barrier material called Thermolag. Nuclear watchdog organizations have called for its immediate removal from the nation's nuclear plants, but the NRC has approved more incremental solutions.
While utilities search for ways to fix the problem, the NRC has allowed plants to use "fire watches," in which employees patrol the plants looking for signs of fire.
The NRC began requiring the use of fire retardants after a 1975 fire at a nuclear plant in Alabama burned through two sets of cables, causing a dangerous loss of control of the reactor.
Virginia Power Co.'s North Anna Point Units 1 and 2, as well as its Surry Units 1 and 2, use between 100 and 1,000 feet of the fire retardant, according to Justice Department documents.
by CNB