NY Task Force To Assess Security At Nuclear Plants

- BUCHANAN, N.Y. (AP)--The head of New York state's new Office of Public Security was scheduled to meet Friday with officials at the Indian Point nuclear power plants to discuss security issues there.

James Kallstrom planned to be at the lower Hudson River site all day to meet with officials from Entergy Corp. (ETR), the plants' owner, the FBI and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

"We want to reassure the public we are there and watching," said Mollie Fullington, spokeswoman for Gov. George Pataki. "We believe things are already terrifically secure, but we want to make sure everything's being done."

At Pataki's request, Fullington said, Kallstrom formed the task force to address security concerns at Indian Point. Friday marks the group's first meeting.

"There's such a worry about this," she said. "We want people to know the governor is taking this very, very seriously."

Security measures at the plant already include Coast Guard and National Guard troops, ordered to Indian Point after the Trade Center disaster, and Entergy's own security force.

On Oct. 16, the Coast Guard announced plans to halt its 24-hour patrol on the Hudson River near Indian Point, 35 miles north of Times Square. But three days later, Pataki said it would continue surveillance around-the-clock pending completion of Kallstrom's security review.

Only one of the two Indian Point plants is currently operating. The Indian Point 2 facility shut down Tuesday for a few weeks for routine repairs, plant officials said.

Kallstrom, the former FBI chief who led the investigation into the crash of TWA Flight 800, was named Oct. 10 to head the office charged with protecting the state against terrorist attacks.

The nation's nuclear power plants - 103 reactors at 64 sites in 31 states - have been under heightened alert since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. National Guard troops were assigned by Pataki to nuclear power plants across the state to provide additional assistance. The National Guard also has been deployed to reactors in other states.