Physical Protection Philosophy and Techniques in the United States of America

Nuclear materials and facilities must be protected from hostile acts which could possibly impactpublic health and safety or national defense and security. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is responsible for regulating the safeguards of commercial nuclear facilities within the United States of America, and it issues and enforces requirements for safeguards at privately owned and operated nuclear facilities. The US Department of Energy (DOE) performs these functions for government-owned nuclear facilities. Domestic safeguards includes 1) physical protection measures to control access to nuclear material and facilities and 2) material control and accounting procedures to ensure that only authorized activities take place, to account for materials, and to conform with the US-IAEA Treaty. Physical protection measures (the focus of this article) contain the sensitive materials and activities within concentric physical barriers controlled by armed guards, who grant access to authorized individuals and prevent access by force or stealth.