Over at the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) weblog, Eric McErlain published some information about an effort by ABC News to get access to various Test, Research & Training nuclear reactor locations in the United States this summer, apparently for an upcoming segment on “20/20″ on September 9. Sounds innocent enough, right? Wrong. As it turns out, ABC News is believed to have sent multiple interns to go on public tours through the reactors, all the while never stating that they were there on behalf of - or as part of - ABC News.
If you access the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Adams Database, you are able to view the documents McErlain points out. Look for documents numbered ML052100432 (original letter to NRC) and ML052100387 (response from NRC). While the various documents state that those suspected of being ABC News interns “on the job” were given a similar tour to that which would have been offered to the press if they had been announced as such, it is only normal to think that the media would be “watched” while on the tour in a different manner than members of the general public who were cleared to tour the facilities. Additionally, the possibility that the interns took photographic, audio, or video records of their visit without the security personnel or reactor staff being aware of it, for use in a television program is a bit out of line, most would say.
More information may appear within this forum on Yahoo! Groups. Additionally, the NEI informs that they made an attempt to contact ABC News on Tuesday, and TMD has sent an e-mail request to a public relations contact for the “20/20″ program this afternoon, with no response as of yet. More details as they become available.
