Using Exercises to Enhance the Nuclear Security of Nuclear and other Radioactive Material in Transport.

Exercises are a way of testing, training, evaluating and demonstrating capabilities in a particular subject area. Participants and participating organizations should be knowledgeable in their roles and responsibilities as well as their established procedures for dealing with the topic of the exercise. The exercise provides an opportunity for those procedures and decision making processes to be applied in a realistic manner. When multiple organizations and agencies are involved in the exercise, their ability to coordinate and collaborate is also demonstrated.Results of the exercise can be: reinforcement of good practices; and, identification of gaps, overlaps or other areas for improvement in the subject area.The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) with support from its‘ Member States works to build the national capacity for strengthening a Member State’s nuclear security regime in the transport of nuclear and other radioactive materials. One recent area where this assistance has grown is in the conduct of exercises to support the training, validation and enhancement of Competent Authorities and many other stakeholders within a State to help ensure that nuclear and other radioactive materials are transported safely and securely.Because of the many different types of exercises, a State can tailor its exercises to meet the State’s desired objectives while acknowledging its level of resources it has available to invest. It allows planners and security professionals the chance to thoughtfully consider how the malicious actor may attempt to attack a nuclear or radioactive material shipment and present that scenario for the security regime to operate against. Exercises are an efficient and effective tool to examine how well the entire nuclear security regime’s structure, sections, or even subsections may respond to many different scenarios and conditions. While the intended outcome is to strengthen and better prepare the State’s nuclear security regime for protecting the lives of its citizens, the benefits of exercises can be detailed in many different areas: enhanced protection, more reliable equipment, better trained forces, quicker responses, reduced vulnerability to consequential release, etc. The IAEA, with the support of Sweden in 2015, piloted type types of exercises a tabletop exercise followed by a nuclear spent fuel transport security field exercise. Later that year, again with support from the IAEA, the Kingdoms of Spain and Morocco conducted the “Gate to Africa” exercise program based on a maritime shipment of radioactive material between the two countries in the Strait of Gibraltar. This paper describes benefits and challenges to exercises, critical planning methodology used in designing transport security exercises, and IAEA resources available to support the incorporation of exercises as part of a robust nuclear security regime.