Safeguards and Security Issues During Facility Transition

The transition of Department of Energy (DOE) production facilities to those destined for decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) must consider traditional safeguards and security requirements governing nuclear materials. Current DOE safeguards and security policy establishes specific requirements for the removal of facilities and waste from safeguards. However, the current physical security policy does not differentiate the protection of waste from usable materials. Other transition issues include: access of uncleared individuals, positioning security zones, nuclear material holdup, accounting for difficult-to-measure materials, inventory difference and resolution, and radiological/toxicological sabotage. Safeguards and security goals for facility transitioning must provide a workable, efficient and cost-effective system for accounting and protecting nuclear material. In depth protection strategies utilizing combinations of safeguards and security systems should be developed to meet these goals.