Publication Laka-library:
Nuclear Power vs. Political Rights (1979)
| Author | Campaign for Political Rights |
| Date | April 1979 |
| Classification | 3.01.0.00/24 (UNITED STATES - GENERAL) |
| Front | 
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From the publication:
Nuclear Power vs. Political Rights Nuclear power brings with it numerous hazards, including the intrinsic susceptibility of nuclear materials and wastes to theft and the vulnerability of nuclear facilities to acts of sabotage and "terrorism." To prevent such incidents, operators of nuclear facilities institute strict security measures, including extensive background checks of all employees at the facility and limited access to facility grounds by unauthorized persons. As part of their security measures, a growing number of facility officials have initiated intelligence programs in order to monitor the actions of people who speak out strongly on issues, including the use of nuclear power. Some utilities and organizations representing nuclear power interests have linked their own intelligence operations with federal and state intelligence agencies, local police forces and private security firms. As a result, surveillance has become a new and equally serious hazard; it is an awesome threat to civil liberties and the exercise of political rights. The mobilization of a nuclear power intelligence network is recommended in three studies prepared for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission: the Rosenbaum Report (1974), the Barton Report (1975), and the Mitre Report (1977). These studies conclude that severe curtailment of civil liberties would be required in order to protect nuclear materials and facilities from possible terrorist actions: The first and one of the most important lines of defense against groups which might attempt to illegally acquire special nuclear materials to make a weapon, is timely and indepth intelligence. Such intelligence may involve electronic and other means of surveillance, but the most important aspect is infiltration of the groups themselves. (Rosenbaum Report) The targets of this surveillance effort include the many people who challenge nuclear power: environmentalists, labor unions, civil libertarians, rate payers, Native Americans, and other community activists. Despite a history of non-violent, highly public actions by the anti-nuclear movement, the threat of "terrorism" has been used by the industry as an excuse to covertly infiltrate and disrupt organizations which speak out against nuclear power. As a result, it is vitally necessary for those who oppose nuclear power and others who are affected by this web of surveillance, to challenge the new threat to political rights-and to organize against it.
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