The whistle-blower who taped his fellow guards sleeping on the job at the Peach Bottom nuclear power plant was fired, prompting anger from government watchdogs who say he should have been a hero.
Kerry Beal, who secretly videotaped guards sleeping near the nuclear reactor at Peach Bottom this summer, had his computer hard drive seized as part of the federal investigation into the plant after the videos were leaked to a New York TV station in September.
Earlier this week, Warrenville, Ill.-based Exelon Nuclear fired Beal because he “did not meet the selection criteria” for continuing to work at the plant as it transitions to an in-house security staff, according to a letter obtained by the watchdog group Project on Government Oversight.
“Of all the guards, he?s the one guard they should have kept,” said David Walthel, the Washington lawyer representing Beal. “Without Kelly Beal, they never would have found out anything was wrong.”
Beal had been working for Palm Beach-based Wackenhut Security. Wackenhut was phased out in favor of security guards overseen directly by Exelon, Wackenhut spokesman Marc Shapiro said.
Beal had never submitted an application and has been on administrative leave since the investigation began, but he received the letter notifying him of his “non-hiring” on Oct. 25 ? also the last day of Wackenhut?s contract at the plant.
An investigation by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission found fault with the 10 guards taped sleeping.
The NRC investigation pointed to a culture that encouraged the cover-up of the sleeping guards, with managers who were told of the problem but never reported it to their superiors or interceded themselves.
“This is the stupidest thing they could have done. Now, they?ll ensure no one else will be brave enough to come forward and try tofix problems,” said Danielle Brian, POGO?s executive director.
