Belgian nuclear plant security guard killed, badge stolen

[LittleLebowski]

http://rudaw.net/english/world/260320161


A security officer at a Belgian nuclear plant was killed and his identification badge stolen, following reports that last week’s Brussels bombers had been planning attacks on Belgian nuclear sites.

Belgium’s Derniere Heure reported that the security officer at an atomic power plant in Charleroi, about 50 kilometers from Brussels, was shot dead on Thursday, two days after attacks at Brussels airport and a metro station killed some 35 people."

[RoyGBiv]

Not if, when.

Tick-tock.

[1slow]

I was told by that killing to acquire badges, guns etc.... was a taught technique.
It would seem that somebody with that kind of equipment/access cannot afford to be unaware or unready.

[voodoo_man]

I was told by that killing to acquire badges, guns etc.... was a taught technique.
It would seem that somebody with that kind of equipment/access cannot afford to be unaware or unready.

"trade craft"

[Chance]

Is getting into power plants that hard (http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/05/us/florida-scuba-diver-sucked-into-power-plant-pipe/)?

[Casey]

Let's not jump to conclusions.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-belgium-blast-nuclear-idUSKCN0WS09E


Two days after bomb attacks at Brussels airport and on a packed metro killed 31 people and injured hundreds, a security guard who worked at a Belgian nuclear site was killed but the local prosecutor on Saturday ruled out any militant link. The Charleroi prosecutor's office also denied media reports that his security pass had been stolen and been de-activated as soon as investigators raised the alarm, public broadcaster VTM said. The office declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.

Le Soir newspaper said the man was a guard at Belgium's national radioactive elements institute at Fleurus, to the south of Brussels. A police spokeswoman said she could not comment because an investigation was ongoing.

In a nation on high alert following this week's attacks, the media reports tap into fears about the possibility militants are seeking to get hold of nuclear material or planning to attack a nuclear site.

On Thursday, DH had reported the suicide bombers who blew themselves up on Tuesday originally considered targeting a nuclear site, but a series of arrests of suspect militants forced them to speed up their plans and instead switch focus to the Belgian capital. Late last year, investigators found a video tracking the movements of a man linked to the country's nuclear industry during a search of a flat as part of investigations into the Islamist militant attack on Paris on Nov. 13 that killed 130 people. The video, lasting several hours, showed footage of the entrance to a home in northern Belgium and the arrival and departure of the director of Belgium's nuclear research program.

(Reporting by Barbara Lewis, Foo Yun Chee and Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Alison Williams)

I do agree that it's a matter if when, not if, and I say that having worked in security at a nuclear plant for about six years now. I'm not familiar with Belgium's nuclear security measures, but US plants require two-factor authentication to gain access to Protected Area of a nuclear plant, which means a security badge in itself is useless for gaining plant access without some other form of verification, usually biometrics. I'm not saying the system is foolproof, but breaking in isn't as simple as just stealing someone's access card.

As for divers swimming into a plant, after reading that article my eyes were rolling so hard it's a wonder I didn't fall out of my chair. The media almost universally fails to understand the physical layout of the average plant, which means every time someone wanders on to plant property by mistake, the implication is that they have somehow gained unfettered access to the reactor. Local media down here loves to make a big deal when Cuban immigrants wash ashore in our cooling canal complex and go undetected for hours, but the reality is they're nowhere near anything important.

[Erick Gelhaus]

IF my memory is correct ... 84-85ish, a US airman in West Germany was murdered for his mil ID card by one of the marxist terrorist groups running around western Europe at the time (AD, B-M Gang, RAF, etc). I cannot recall if it was confirmed or just hypothesized that this led to one of a couple bombings on Rhein-Main Air Base (http://articles.latimes.com/1985-08-08/news/mn-3277_1_car-bomb) in '85.

This was a fairly big deal for some troops assigned to certain bases over there in that era. So, there is some precedence for concern.