U.S. Lacks Defense From Nuclear Pulse, Official Says

related: EMP Attack: Overlooked Catastrophe
Newt Gingrich: A Single Nuke Could Destroy America
Unready for This Attack

July 21, 2009
By Jeff Bliss
Bloomberg

The U.S. must do more to protect itself against blackouts and damaged electronics that would be caused by a nuclear bomb blast, said the head of a panel established by Congress to monitor the threat.

“The current vulnerability of our critical infrastructures can both invite and reward attack if not corrected,” said William Graham, chairman of the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse Attack.

Graham testified today before a House Homeland Security subcommittee considering legislation authorizing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to force power plants and other critical facilities to protect against computer attacks. FERC’s rules would be based on intelligence gathered by the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. spy agencies. Several similar measures have been introduced in the House and Senate.

Graham said Congress must address the potentially “catastrophic” consequences of an electromagnetic pulse, which would occur if a nuclear bomb exploded 25 to 249 miles (40 to 400 kilometers) above the ground.

“Rogue adversaries, including North Korea and Iran, possess and test high altitude missiles that could potentially cause a catastrophic pulse across the grid,” said Representative Yvette Clarke, the New York Democrat who heads the subcommittee that was holding today’s hearing.

Potential Damage

Pulses “can cause equal or greater destruction than cyber attacks,” said Joseph McClelland, director of FERC’s Office of Electric Reliability. “The federal government should have no less ability to act to protect against such potential damage.”

U.S. and Soviet atmospheric atomic tests in 1962 led to failed street lighting systems, damaged cables and tripped circuit breakers from as far away as 870 miles (1,400 kilometers) from ground zero, Graham said.

Solar flares and storms that disrupt the Earth’s magnetic field also can cause a pulse.

Threats notwithstanding, electric utilities may not be classifying as many facilities as they should as critical in order to avoid boosting security there, according to an official of the North American Electric Reliability Corp. The nonprofit group oversees reliability for power systems providing electricity to 334 million people.

Only 31% of separate, non-affiliated utilities reported at least one “critical asset,” said Michael Assante, NERC’s vice president and chief security officer, in an April 7 letter released today by the subcommittee.

Clarke said the statistic epitomizes “the head-in-the-sand mentality that seems to permeate broad sections of the electric industry.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff Bliss in Washington jbliss@bloomberg.net.

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