The Nuclear Regulatory Commission resumed anti-terrorism exercises at nuclear power plants with additional COVID-19 guidelines in February, the agency said this week.
Force-on-force inspections started up again last month, NRC spokesperson David McIntyre told RadWaste Monitor in an email Monday. The agency had previously said in a February webinar with industry that exercises would resume in March unless sites were ready earlier.
Currently, the commission is “actively engaged” in scheduled oversight activities, McIntyre said.
The NRC augmented inspection procedures to allow plant staff to participate only as needed to reduce close contact, they said at the Feb. 3 webinar. Exercises will also be simulated where possible, the agency said.
The agency’s updated inspection guidelines come after the agency granted 48 pandemic-related exemptions to power plants between March and November of last year.
Force-on-force inspections, according to commission guidelines, involve tabletop simulations and combat exercises with plant security staff. The full program, designed to prepare plants for sabotage or terrorist attacks, usually lasts two weeks.
