Office of Radiological Security Transportation Security Efforts

The NNSA’s Office of Radiological Security (ORS) works with domestic and international partners to strengthen transportation security of radiological materials in the United States and abroad. The security of these shipments helps to ensure that material in transit cannot be misappropriated and used maliciously. Radiological material is most at risk during transportation therefore these security measures strengthen national security and ensure public health and safety. ORS institutes additional security measures to radiological shipments that are over and above the standards set by the NRC and IAEA because of the belief that transportation is the highest risk period during the lifecycle of thatmaterial.ORS additional transportation security measures are multi-faceted and robust and are not simply limited to tracking of shipments from location to location. Although ORS tracked numerous shipments over long distances, advancements in adding security measures to containers and vehicles have increased overall transportation security for domestic and international radiological material movements. To increase transportation security, ORS has been involved in the design of vehicles that have security measures built in to the vehicle. Additionally, ORS has sponsored the design of two Type B(U) containers. These two containers, the 435-B (currently certified and under construction) and the 380-B (submitted for certification) have benefitted from a security by design approach which includes security enhancements designed alongside the function of the container. This paper will discuss ORS efforts to increase transportation security of radiological shipments as well as work with international partners to increase the security of radiological material transported in locations globally.