http://www.usatoday.com/tech/gaming/2006-
05-29-nuclear-guard-game_x.htm
By Deborah Yao
The Associated Press
5/29/2006
PHILADELPHIA - A security guard at the Three Mile Island
nuclear power
plant was so absorbed in playing a hand-held video game that
he failed
to see an inspector approach during a surprise inspection,
the agency
said.
The employee did not violate any rules as guards are allowed
to engage
in mind-stimulating activities, the state Department of
Environmental
Protection said.
But the alleged lapse - which follows five other reports of
employee
inattention in the past two years - is prompting officials
to review
current policies.
"The issue is not the guard's use of the video
game," Kathleen
McGinty, secretary of the environmental agency, said in a
statement.
"The real issue is that his complete absorption in the
game distracted
him from noticing the repeated approach of our inspector.
And that
shows why this procedure needs to be changed and these video
games
disallowed," she said.
The state agency will work with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission
and nuclear plant operators to review policies after the
latest
inspection, which was first reported by The Patriot-News of
Harrisburg
in Saturday editions.
The department's nuclear safety staff conducted a surprise
check
between 4 a.m. and 8 a.m. Friday at the Dauphin County
plant. The
guard did respond properly to a radio check while the
inspector was
present, McGinty said.
The guard's only responsibility is to respond to radio
checks and be
ready to take action if necessary, the agency said.
Gov. Ed Rendell sanctioned the off-hour surprise checks in
February at
each of the state's five nuclear power plants after public
concerns
emerged over reports of employee inattentiveness at Three
Mile Island.
AmerGen Energy, the company that operates Three Mile Island,
had
reassigned a shift manager suspected of sleeping on the job.
Three Mile Island, located about 10 miles southeast of
Harrisburg, was
the site of the nation's worst nuclear accident when a
partial
meltdown occurred in 1979.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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