ABU DHABI // Now that the UAE has hired a South Korean consortium to build four nuclear power plants, attention has turned to protecting them from potential terror attacks.
A set of general guidelines were outlined yesterday by a senior American nuclear expert who spoke on the final day of the Crisis and Emergency Management conference.
Dr Frank Congel, a former official at the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and a veteran of the US nuclear programme, said the September 11, 2001 attacks in the US pointed up the lack of a "comprehensive infrastructure" for dealing with threats to power plants.
He emphasised the need for greater manpower. It was important to maintain a large law enforcement presence to deter militants, he said, as well as technical staff to deal with possible breaches that could cause a radiation leak.
Equipment providing radiation protection for staff is also needed, he said.
Dr Congel said on-site officers needed to co-ordinate their responses to avoid conflict between technical and security teams, which often have different priorities in the face of an attack. In December, the UAE signed a deal worth $20 billion (Dh73.5bn) to have the power plants built by 2020.
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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