Since the occurrence of the tragic events of September 11, 2001 at the WTC and the Pentagon, there has been considerable concern among the public regarding the ability of nuclear power plants (and other nuclear installations) to withstand a direct attack (whether from terrorists or nations - see the information on the US attacks on the Iraq NPP) with for instance a passenger jet with full fuel tanks or by other means.
Although the response to questions from citizens have been different in every country in general the authorities and the nuclear industry have been giving the impression that nuclear reactors would be likely to survive a attack. After further questions from journalists however some authorities admitted that a direct hit by for instance a passenger jet with full fuel tanks could cause an accident at the scale of Chernobyl. Followed by the 'reassurance' that this is very unlikely to happen.
The problem is, however, we cannot be sure. A nuclear reactor has in it an immense quantity of radioactivity that, if released, could cause tens or hundreds of thousands of cancers and contaminate an area the size of whole countries for generations.
In this section just some articles, comments, press releases, historical material and links - quickly taken from our archives. We do not pretend to give a complete picture - we just want to show the problem is not new, not over and not properly dealt with.
More in chronological order
2001
- Vulnerability of VVER-1000 Nuclear power plants to passenger aircraft crash. In English as html or pdf [162 kB].
- Danger to German nuclear power plants from crashes by passenger aircraft. In English as html or pdf [184 kB].
- Castor and Terror. A review of a German study of the consequences of a possible attack on a nuclear waste cask. 11-22-2001 by WISE Amsterdam
- Nuclear agency warns of threat
11-01-2001 by BBC News - Gefährdung deutscher Atomkraftwerke durch den Absturz von Verkehrsflugzeugen 11-01-2001 by Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung [In German: excellent study by nuclear physicist on vulnerability of German NPP's
- FAA Restricts All Private Aircraft Flying Over Nuclear Facilities 31-10-2001 pressrelease by The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
- New UCS fact sheet on spent fuel security 10-22-2001 by Union of Concerned Scientists
- Nuclear industry hit by terrorism fallout 10-22-2001 by Environment Daily
- Nuclear mystery: Crashed plane's target may have been reactor 10-21-2001 by Sunday-Times
- Nuclear terrorism issues raised in European Parliament 10-11-2001 on Nuclear Waste mailing list
- WISE-Paris answers COGEMA: The consequences of the crash of an airliner on La Hague are unimaginable 10-08-2001 by WISE-Paris
- Security of nuclear power plants 10-05-2001 on Nuclear Waste mailing list
- Mock terrorists breached security at weapons plant 10-05-2001 in Chicago Tribune
- US nuclear terrorist threat to itself 10-2001 by Harvey Wasserman
- German reaction to terrorism: Shut down nuclear plants 10-10-2001 by Environment News Service
- The World Trade Center Terrorists threatened to attack nuclear facilities....and trained only 30 miles from Three Mile Island. 10-2001 by Three Mile Island Alert
- Nuclear power reactors are vulnerable to terrorist attack, watchdog group warn 09-25-2001 by the Nuclear Control Institute
- La Hague Particularly Exposed to Plane Crash Risk 09-27-2001 by WISE-Paris
- Nuclear plant security eyed 09-23-2001 by the Chicago Tribune
- US Attacks: The Three Mile Island connection 09-23-2001 in WISE News Communique 554
- Consequences of attacks on nuclear installations 09-23-2001 in WISE News Communique 554
- The vulnerability of nuclear power plant containment buildings to penetration by aircraft 09-21-2001 by the Nuclear Control Institute
- Sellafield nuclear plant could be prime target for terrorists [pdf file 293kB] or Same link as html 09-18-2001 by Guardian
2000
- Fla. Militia leader arrested 07-28-2000 by AP. The man planned attacks on power plants
- Jet fighter crashes near Dukovany NPP 06-27-2000 in WISE News Communique issue 532
- Atomic haul raises fears of Bin Laden terror bomb 04-23-2000 by New Delhi
- Seized radioactive material meant for terrorists? 04-12-2000 by The Hindu
1999
- Nuclear tools of terror could destroy in silence 11-21-1999 by The Record
- Chechen and Georgian NGOs warn against ecological catastrophe in Chechnya 11-19-1999 in WISE News Communique issue 521
1998
- Are America's commercial nuclear-power plants more vulnerable to terrorists attack? 11-05-1998 by Newsweek
- Russian Sailor takes over military submarine 11-02-1998 in WISE News Communique issue 501
1997
- Officials in Kabul seized uranium 05-18-1997 by Reuters
- Afghan authorities arrested uranium smugglers 05-10-1997 by Reuters
1996
- Russian nuclear material stolen during war in Chechnya / High radiation levels in Grozny 12-13-1996 in WISE News Communique 463-464
- US: Sabotage at nuclear reactor 08-30-1996 in WISE News Communique issue 457
- Maine Yankee: More sabotage? 08-30-1996 in WISE News Communique issue 457
- US Navy: And another act of sabotage? 08-30-1996 in WISE News Communique issue 457
- Heading off a new nuclear nightmare Illicit Trade in nuclear materials, technology and know-how. Spring/Summer 1996 in Carnegie Quarterly
- War & Nuclear Power Plants 03-1996 by Gordon Thompson, Institute for Resource and Security Studies, Cambridge, MA-USA
- Investigation of FBI on Iranians after 1993 WTC bombing 02-18-1996 by UPI
1995
- Missing radioactive material found at Azerbaijan airport 05-19-1995 in WISE News Communique in 432
1994
- Sabotage Cruas NPP France 01-28-1994 in WISE News Communique issue 405
1991
- Sabotage at Krsko N-plant/Slovenia. 08-22-1991 in WISE News Communique issue 357
- Nuclear Puzzles: bombing their reactors isn't a great idea. International Herald Tribune 08-14-1991 [pdf file [129 kB]]
- Krsko is threatened by extremists in Yugoslavia's political upheaval by Nucleonics Week about the nuclear power plant Krsko of Slovenia, 05-23-1991
1987
- According to a leaked report a special groups of former secret service agents succeeded in entering the control room of the Bugey nuclear power plant in March 1987 05-18-1990 in WISE News Communique issue 332
- Preventing Nuclear Terrorism The Report and Papers of the International Task Force on Prevention of Nuclear Terrorism. A Nuclear Control Institute Book
1986
- Nuclear plants - military hostages? Bulletin of Atomic Scientist March 1986 pp 17-21 [pdf file [561 kB!!]]
- Protecting reactors from terrorists Bulletin of Atomic Scientist March 1986 pp 22-25 [pdf file [375 kB!!]]
1985
- When Reactors becomes weaponsGroundswell Volume 8, Number 4 December 1985 [pdf file [ 219 kB!]]
- U.S. increases security at nuclear facilities as fear of terrorists grows. International Herald Tribune 08-29-1985 [pdf file [139 kB]]
- Plutonium is found in NY water International Herald Tribune 07-29-1985 [pdf file [74 kB]]
- Iraq clings to its nuclear secrets in html or pdf [143 kB] 07-27-1991 by New Scientist
- Nuclear material and facilities in Iraq 06-14-1991 in WISE News Communique issue 354
- Nuclear Materials in Iraq 05-15-1991 by Nuclear Fuel
- Iraq Targets Israeli A-Plant in html or pdf [93 kB] 02-18-1991 by International Herald Tribune
- Iraq won't report to IAEA about nuclear material during bombing 02-14-1991 by Nucleonics Week
- Bombing of Iraqi nuclear facilities 02-08-1991 by WISE News Communique
- Allied bombing of Iraqi reactors provokes no safeguards debate 01-31-1991 by Nucleonics Week
- Fate of uranium from bombed reactor unknown in html or pdf [49 kB] 01-26-1991 by New Scientist
- Baghdad jets launch attack on Iranian nuclear power plant in html or pdf [127 kB] 11-18-1987 in The Guardian
- Iraqi jets return to the attack on Iran's unfinished N-plant in html or pdf [120 kB] 11-20-1987 in The Guardian
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