Nuclear Power Plant Security and Vulnerabilities

Abstract

The physical security of nuclear power plants and their vulnerability to deliberate acts of terrorism was elevated to a national security concern following the September 11, 2001 attacks. Since then, Congress has repeatedly focused oversight and legislative attention on nuclear power plant security requirements established and enforced by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-58) imposed specific criteria for NRC to consider in revising the "Design Basis Threat" (DBT), which specifies the maximum severity of potential attacks that a nuclear plant's security force must be capable of repelling. In response to the legislative mandate, NRC revised the DBT (10 C.F.R. Part 73.1) on April 18, 2007. Among other changes, the revisions expanded the assumed capabilities of adversaries to operate as one or more teams and attack from multiple entry points.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 18, 2009
Accession Number
ADA496903

Entities

People

  • Anthony Andrews
  • Mark Holt

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

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

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Commercial Aircraft
  • Emergencies
  • Emergency Response
  • Employment
  • Law Enforcement Officers
  • Materials
  • Military Organizations
  • National Security
  • Nuclear Fuels
  • Nuclear Power Plants
  • Personnel Management
  • Physical Security
  • Security
  • Security Personnel
  • United States
  • Vulnerability

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Aviation Safety Risk Assessment.
  • Cybersecurity.
  • Public Financial Management and Budgeting