The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Thursday that its security inspections at commercial nuclear power reactors and “Category I” fuel cycle facilities in 2015 resulted in 138 findings, most of which were of “low security significance.”
The annual report to Congress on the NRC’s security inspection program said the agency conducted 242 inspections at those sites, including 22 force-on-force inspections to simulate armed attacks. Of 138 total inspection findings, 136 fell under the lowest significance categories: “green” or “[Severity Level] IV violations.”
One finding was “greater-than-green” and another was a “greater-than-SL IV violation,” the report said. The NRC classifies SL IV violations as “less serious” than those with moderate security consequences but of “more than minor concern.” However, the report said specific information about performance deficiencies are sensitive and therefore not publicly released.
The inspections are intended to verify that NRC licensees are able to control and account for their special nuclear material, and that they can protect against the threat of radiological sabotage and theft or loss of radiological materials.
“The report provides information regarding the overall security and safeguards performance of the commercial nuclear power industry and Category I fuel cycle facilities to keep Congress informed of the NRC’s efforts to oversee the protection of the nation’s civilian nuclear power infrastructure and strategic special nuclear material against terrorist attacks,” NRC Chairman Stephen Burns said in a press release.
In the announcement on the report release, the NRC said that upon identifying a security finding, inspectors ensure the licensee in question enacts “compensatory measures” to resolve the issue. The June 23 NRC letter to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works that transmitted the annual report noted that compensatory measures might include an increased number of armed personnel or additional physical and cyber security measures.
The report said in 2015 the NRC conducted 21 force-on-force inspections at commercial power reactors and one at a Category I fuel cycle facility, identifying 26 findings, all of which were “green,” or of “very low security significance.” Twenty-one inspections of this kind are scheduled for calendar year 2016, it said.
Force-on-force drills at nuclear power plants involve the mock invaders attempting to reach and pretend to damage systems that provide protection for the reactor core or spent fuel, which could send radioactive material into the environment, the report said. Simulated incursions at Category I fuel cycle facilities are intended to prevent “radiological sabotage and theft or diversion of” strategic special nuclear material.
The NRC also conducted 205 security baseline inspections of commercial nuclear reactors last year to assess areas including access control and authorization; security training; equipment performance, testing, and maintenance; and material control and accounting.
These inspections yielded 108 findings; 107 of these were of very low security significance, and one of “greater-than-green.”
The report said the NRC also conducted 15 security inspections of Category I fuel cycle facilities, which host 5,000 grams or more of a combination of enriched uranium and plutonium.
The NRC conducts regulatory oversight of BWX Technologies’ Nuclear Operations Group in Lynchburg, Va., and Nuclear Fuel Services in Erwin, Tenn. These facilities produce fuel for government reactors and downblend highly enriched uranium (HEU) into low-enriched uranium for use in commercial reactors, the report said.
The inspections of these facilities focused on “HEU access control, HEU alarms and barriers, and other security topics, such as security-force training and contingency response,” it said. Of the four resulting findings, three were SL IV violations and one was “greater-than-SL IV.”
BWXT spokesman Jud Simmons said in response by email: “BWXT maintains the highest levels of security at all of its nuclear manufacturing facilities. Our world-class security program utilizes state-of-the-art technologies and a highly trained security force to protect BWXT resources and to respond to external threats.”
The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works is reviewing the report, according to a panel spokesperson.
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