Nuclear power plant security unveiled
30/05/2010 - The NationalFirst details of the massive security cordon that will protect the UAE’s nuclear power plants were unveiled yesterday.
Each of the four plants, scheduled to go online in 2017, will have a security detail of 160 personnel. Troops on land and at sea will ensure a 1.2-kilometre “protective bubble” around the facilities. And the plants will be strong enough to withstand the impact of a Boeing 777 aircraft – an engineering feat that will require nearly a million cubic metres of concrete, three times the amount used in the Burj Khalifa.
The plan was announced by Maj Mohamed al Shamsi, manager of the security and nuclear power protection department at the Critical National Infrastructure Authority (CNIA), in response to concerns raised by the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). It is the first time the CNIA has disclosed any details of its plans to secure the nuclear sites.
Maj al Shamsi added: “For maritime security, there are sea patrols that will be similar to how we deal with protecting petroleum and gas infrastructure. We have a lot of experience in maintaining security from the sea after bringing in the Coast Guards and the Marine Police.
“When we take all the security preparations and legislation into account, we are sure that no attacks will happen. We will leave nothing to chance.”
Both the Coast Guard and the Marine Police, who are charged with protecting maritime infrastructure, became part of the CNIA after its creation in 2007.
The authority has developed three separate security plans: one to secure the site as it is being prepared for construction, another after building begins, and a third that will be implemented when the power plants are activated. Maj al Shamsi declined to provide specific figures for how much securing the nuclear power plants would cost, pointing out that the technology available will probably be different by 2017.