Seabrook Station security officer accidentally fires gun

By TERRY DATE

Democrat Staff Writer

SEABROOK — A security officer accidentally fired a gun Friday in the protected area at Seabrook Station nuclear power plant.

No one was injured and no damage occurred in the 2 p.m. incident, which took place in a security enclosure away from the plant building, said plant spokesman Alan Griffith.

The discharge is under investigation and no further information was available, Griffith said.

Jenn Hicks, of the Seacoast Anti-Pollution League, said the firing of the gun might be indicative of greater problems with security at the plant.

The Anti-Pollution group has been asking for improved security at the plant ever since the Sept. 11 terrorists attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C.

Griffith said he would not respond to anything the Anti-Pollution League has to say. "It’s a broken record, dealing with them," he said.

Griffith did say the plant security team is highly trained and extremely motivated.

"We are very, very confident in our security officers," he said.

Hicks said former Seabrook Station security officers had previously stated, in March at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s annual assessment meeting, that new plant security received limited firearm training.

Former security officers John Middlemiss and James Howard resigned in protest of the quality of security at the plant.

Seabrook Station contracts its security to Burns Security, a private force.