Crackdown follows discovery that suspected al Qaida member worked at nuclear power plants in New Jersey. Senator will discuss audit today in Oswego.
Aerial view of the Nine Mile Point nuclear power plants, in Scriba, Oswego County, looking north towards Lake Ontario. Unit One is on the left. Washington -- Workers at the three nuclear power plants at Nine Mile Point in Oswego County will face beefed up background screening and training aimed at identifying potential terrorists as part of a new national crackdown by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, according to U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer.
The NRC is expected to make the recommendations today when it releases an audit requested by Schumer after officials discovered a suspected Al-Qaida member worked at nuclear plants in New Jersey for six years.
The suspect, Sharif Mobley, moved to Yemen where he was arrested earlier this year and accused of having ties to Al Qaida. Mobley is an American citizen who was hired by several contractors to do maintenance work at nuclear power plants.
Schumer said the audit from the NRC Inspector General recommended improving employee training so that workers can better identify potential terrorists, and allowing the NRC direct access to background-check databases, as opposed to relying on information provided by third parties.
The audit also said nuclear plants should increase the frequency with which employees are re-screened, and possibly require employees to declare their foreign travel.
Schumer,D-NY, said the first three recommendations must be acted on within 30 days, as required by law. The NRC will have the discretion to decide whether nuclear plant employees should be required to disclose details of their overseas travel.
Schumer plans to visit Oswego this afternoon, where he will discuss the inspector general's audit.
Contact Washington correspondent Mark Weiner at mweiner@syracuse.com or 571-970-3751.