Security checks OK in 2009

Friday, 9 July 2010

American nuclear safety regulators have summarized their security inspections of US nuclear power plants. They carried out some 24 force-on-force tests of security personnel last year. 

 

The annual summary from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) was forwarded at the end of June to the Congressional Committee on Environment and Public Works and a declassified version has now been released.

 

As well as overseeing technical and operational safety arrangements at US nuclear power plants, the NRC is also responsible for ensuring adequate security arrangements are in place to repel certain attacks from a potential malevolent force.

 

NRC described the 'cornerstone' of nuclear security as high performance in the following areas: access authorization, access control, physical protection systems, material control & accounting, and response to contingency events. These are tested with desk-based drills as well as physical inspections and force-on-force exercises.

 

During 2009 it carried out 179 security inspections, including 24 force-on-force tests that simulated 'attempts to reach and damage to key safety systems and components (target sets)... that protect the reactor's core and used fuel pool.' These places are the only ones at a nuclear power plant that contain highly radioactive materials and as such are the only potential sources of a significant radioactive release. Each are protected by strong buildings, access controls and redundant systems to maintain safety-critical cooling functions. It said that 14 of the 24 tests produced no findings to note and only three target sets were simulated as damaged or destroyed during all the tests.

 

In total the NRC noted 180 findings, 168 of which were classified as of 'very low security significance.' The remaining 12 were of 'low to moderate security significance' and there were none in the higher two categories of 'substantial' or 'high' significance. For any finding, the regulator requests that plant operators either quickly make appropriate changes.

  

Researched and written  

by World Nuclear News