It's not alarming if a security guard sneaks a nap during the graveyard shift at a widget factory. It is if the guard's post is at the Shearon Harris nuclear power plant, presumably a tempting target for terrorists. That's one of the more serious charges made by one or more guards to N.C. Waste Awareness and Reduction Network, a longtime critic of nuclear power, and the Union of Concerned Scientists, a Washington-based nonprofit.

N.C. WARN has not publicly identified the supposed whistleblowers or even said how many there are, making it difficult to evaluate the person or persons' credibility. The group's stated concern is possible retaliation against someone making these kinds of charges by Progress Energy, which owns the power plant in southwestern Wake County, or by Securitas, the private company that guards the plant under contract.

But the groups have passed on the allegations to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission -- which says it will investigate -- and to state Attorney General Roy Cooper. Even if there's no reason at this point to assume the allegations have any basis in fact -- Progress Energy denies that they do --the authorities certainly need to check into them as fully as possible.

According to N.C. WARN, the guard or guards say that Progress executives ordered them in some cases not to search vehicles and equipment entering the plant's protected area, where the most sensitive operations take place and the most dangerous materials are stored. They also are said to claim instances when intruder detection equipment was flawed or missing, when alarms were ignored, and when improper weapons discharges were covered up. Securitas is said to have ordered some guards to cheat on security exams.

N.C. WARN is a persistent critic of safety conditions at Shearon Harris. It clearly has an agenda. Still, it's the NRC's job to determine whether the allegations have any substance. It cannot permit any response amounting to a brush-off.

Get $150+ in coupons in every Sunday N&O. Click here for convenient home delivery.