You want to know (1) how many guards are employed at the Millstone Power Station in Waterford; (2) who they work for; (3) how many former and current peace officers are among them; (4) what the hiring standards are and whether they preclude anyone from being employed as a security guard at the facility; and (5) what kind of training the guards get, especially with regard to firearms.

According to Dominion Resources, whose subsidiary, Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, operates the Millstone Power Station, the number of security guards stationed at the facility is confidential.

The guards work for Burns International Security Services under a contract with Dominion Nuclear Connecticut. One is a retired police; none are peace officers.

An applicant for a guard job at the Millstone facility must be at least age 21 and have a high school diploma or equivalent qualification. The applicant must undergo a psychological evaluation and a Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history background check. The check must verify the applicant's identity and develop information on his military service; credit, employment, education, and criminal history; and character and reputation. Every guard must have a special Department of Public Safety gun permit that allows him to carry a handgun on the job. This is in addition to the permit required for carrying a handgun in Connecticut. The qualifications for both permits include the successful completion of a DPS-approved handgun safety and use course (CGS §§ 29-28b and 29-161b). Guards must also meet physical fitness and mental health criteria, including minimum standards for visual acuity and hearing.

Anyone convicted of a felony involving a weapon or reflecting on his reliability is ineligible for a guard job at Millstone.

Guards are trained according to methods and standards contained in the facility's security and training qualification plan, which is required by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Federal regulations establish general minimum criteria for selecting, training, testing, equipping, and qualifying security personnel at nuclear power facilities (10 FR 73. 55, Pt. 73 App. B, attached). The regulations require that each nuclear regulatory commission licensee establish, maintain, and follow a NRC-approved plan showing how it will meet the criteria. Guards must be trained, equipped, and qualified to perform their assigned security tasks. They must requalify periodically, and, when asked by any authorized NRC representative, must demonstrate their ability to carry out their responsibilities.

Initially, Millstone guards get four weeks of classroom training; three weeks of site-specific training, and one week of firearms training. The training covers a wide range of issues and skills, including use of force, self defense, arrest powers, search and seizure authority, surveillance techniques, and security alert procedures.

With regard to weapons training, the regulations require that guards be proficient in the use of weapons assigned to them and meet prescribed standards in the following areas, among others:

1. mechanical assembly, disassembly, range penetration capability of weapon, and bullseye firing;

2. cleaning and storage;

3. combat firing;

4. safe handling of weapons;

5. clearing, loading, unloading, and reloading;

6. when to draw and when to point a weapon;

7. rapid fire techniques;

8. close quarter firing; and

9. stress firing.

Guards must requalify in all training areas annually.

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