A three-member team from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will conduct interviews next week at Shearon Harris Nuclear Plant to see whether they can verify allegations of lax security at the plant.

"This is a special inspection related to concerns that have been raised about inadequate security measures at the plant," said Ken Clark, a spokesman for the NRC in Atlanta. "The NRC staff has not reached any conclusions as to the validity of the concerns. But we are still looking into it, and we are seeking information."

A complaint filed in December by N.C. Waste Awareness and Reduction Network, a nuclear watchdog group, and the Washington-based Union for Concerned Scientists, alleged lapses in security at the nuclear plant. Owned by Progress Energy, the plant is in southwestern Wake County.

Company officials reject the charges and have said that the plant is safe and secure.

The complaint alleged that guards, employed by an outside security firm, have been forced to cheat on guard re-licensing tests, made to work while injured, retaliated against for reporting injuries and allowed to sleep on their shifts. N.C. WARN's source of information was an unidentified guard at the Shearon Harris plant.

The complaint also contends that the plant has some inoperable intruder detection equipment and doors with worn-out hardware that keeps them from locking properly.

"What they really need to do is get in there and talk confidentially and give people some comfort that they are not going to give Progress their names," said Jim Warren, executive director of N.C. WARN, referring to the NRC team.

Rick Kimble, a spokesman for Progress Energy, said the company has completed a review of the allegations. Kimble said several of the incidents raised by N.C. WARN were dealt with by the company at the time they happened. He said they could not substantiate other allegations.

Kimble said some doors at the plant had inoperable mechanisms, but other precautions were taken until they were fixed. He also said a guard had reported a gunshot in August and the incident was investigated immediately. Kimble said the report was taken seriously, the plant went to a heightened level of security and the Wake County Sheriff's Department was called. But he said no source was found for the gunshot.

Kimble said the company could not find evidence that vehicles had passed through security checkpoints without inspection or that guards had been encouraged to cheat on exams, as alleged.

"We can't find anybody who will come forward with any sort of evidence," he said. "We believe very strongly that it never happened."