Physical Protection Design and Analysis Training for the Former Soviet Union

Since 1978, Sandia National Laboratories has provided training courses in the systematic design of Physical Protection Systems (PPS). One such course, the International Training Course (ITC) on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Facilities and Materials, is sponsored by the Department of Energy’s International Safeguards Division, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the Department of State. Since 1978, twelve 3- and 4-week classes have been conducted by Sandia for these sponsors. One- and two-week adaptations of this course have been developed for other customers, and, since 1994, nine of these abbreviated courses have been presented in the Russian language to participants from the Former Soviet Union (FSU). These courses have been performed in support of the Department of Energy’s program on Material Protection, Control and Accounting (MPC&A) for the Russian Federation and the Newly Independent States. The shorter adaptation of the ITC is intended to inform the attendees of the systematic approach to physical protection analysis and system design used in the United States. The result is an understanding between U.S. analysts and designers and their Russian-speaking counterparts that facilitates a cooperative effort in the upgrades of nuclear facilities in the FSU. The training objectives for the longer ITC courses differ from the shorter courses developed for the MPC&A Program. For the ITC, participants with a broad range of backgrounds are in attendance, and cognitive training approaches, complemented by affective approaches, are emphasized. The ITC training goal is to provide the participants with the knowledge and tools for designing and analyzing a physical protection system. MPC&A physical protection training assumes participants have more narrowly defined backgrounds. In using affective approaches, the overall goal of training in the context of the MPC&A Program is to develop modern and effective, indigenous capabilities for physical protection system design and analysis within the FSU. This paper contrasts the cognitive and affective approaches to training and indicates why different approaches are required for the ITC and the MPC&A Programs.