Nuclear Power Plants: Vulnerability to Terrorists Attack

Abstract

Protection of nuclear power plants from land-based assaults, deliberate aircraft crashes, and other terrorist acts has been a heightened national priority since the attacks of September 11, 2001. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has strengthened its regulations on nuclear reactor security, but critics contend that implementation by the industry has been too slow and that further measures are needed. Several provisions to increase nuclear reactor security are included in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, signed August 8, 2005. The new law requires NRC to conduct "force on force" security exercises at nuclear power plants at least once every 3 years and to revise the "design-basis threat" that nuclear plant security forces must be able to meet, among other measures. This report will be updated as events warrant.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 09, 2005
Accession Number
ADA444804

Entities

People

  • Carl Behrens
  • Mark Holt

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Biomedical
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Department Of Homeland Security
  • Emergencies
  • Emergency Response
  • Employment
  • Fission
  • Fission Products
  • Law
  • Nuclear Power Plants
  • Nuclear Reactors
  • Personnel Management
  • Radioactive Materials
  • Security
  • Security Personnel
  • Terrorists
  • Vulnerability
  • Warning Systems

Fields of Study

  • Physics
  • Political science

Readers

  • Aviation Safety Risk Assessment.
  • Strategic Security Studies