$65,000 fine proposed against Exelon over ‘inattentive’ guards at nuclear plant

Federal energy regulators have proposed a $65,000 penalty for Exelon Corp. after guards at the utility holding company’s nuclear plant in Pennsylvania were seen napping on the job.

Exelon terminated its contract with security service provider Wackenhut Corp. in 2007 and shifted to an in-house team, not long after Wackenhut security officers at Exelon’s Peach Bottom plant were videotaped dozing while on duty.


The tapes showed the armed guards taking brief naps in the nuclear plant’s “ready room,” where they are free to relax when not on patrol but must be ready to respond if called.

The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission launched a review of procedures at the plant in September 2007, after learning of the existence of video recordings, the NRC noted Tuesday. The investigation, completed in July, found “multiple occasions” in which guards were “inattentive” and other guards had failed to tell their supervisors about the behavior.

Chicago Tribune