IAEA Nuclear Security

This publication provides guidance to States, competent authorities and operators on appropriate nuclear security measures during each stage in the lifetime of a nuclear facility, from initial planning of the facility through to its final decommissioning. The publication addresses effective nuclear security in the transition between stages and applies to the nuclear security of nuclear material and nuclear facilities throughout the lifetime of all types of nuclear facility. Although focused on nuclear power, the guidance contained in this publication may be useful for States developing nuclear programmes with other types of facility, including those for research and development.

This publication provides guidance to States on the development, implementation, maintenance and sustainment of a national framework for managing the response to nuclear security events. Such a framework involves a structure and a set of principles and agreements around which a State can frame its nuclear security response functions, addressing the interfaces which need to exist between responding agencies to ensure effective, coordinated response. By using this “Implementing Guide”, a State will ensure that it has considered all relevant key issues as it develops its national framework for responding to nuclear security events.

The identification and assessment of threats provides an essential basis for the selection, design, and implementation of nuclear security measures. For nuclear material and other radioactive material that is under regulatory control, and associated facilities and activities, the results of this identification and assessment are expressed as a design basis threat or representative threat statement describing the intentions and capabilities of potential adversaries against which the materials and associated facilities and activities are to be protected. An “Implementing Guide” was issued in 2009 under the title of Development, Use and Maintenance of the Design Basis Threat which was updated and revised. The result of this revision is the current publication. It provides a step-by-step methodology for conducting a national nuclear security threat assessment including both physical and computer security aspects, and for the development, use and maintenance of design basis threats and representative threat statements.

This publication provides guidance to States, competent authorities and operators on appropriate nuclear security measures during each stage in the lifetime of a nuclear facility, from initial planning of the facility through to its final decommissioning. The publication addresses effective nuclear security in the transition between stages and applies to the nuclear security of nuclear material and nuclear facilities throughout the lifetime of all types of nuclear facility. Although focused on nuclear power, the guidance contained in this publication may be useful for States developing nuclear programs with other types of facility, including those for research and development.

This publication is a revision of “IAEA Nuclear Security Series No. 8, Preventive and Protective Measures against Insider Threats”, published in 2008. The new publication provides updated guidance to States, their competent authorities and operators, and shippers and carriers on selecting, implementing and evaluating measures for addressing insider threats. It applies to any type of nuclear facility, notably nuclear power plants, research reactors and other nuclear fuel cycle facilities (e.g., enrichment plants, reprocessing plants, fuel fabrication plants, storage facilities), whether in design, redesign, construction, commissioning, operation, shutdown or decommissioning.

This publication provides guidance on planning, implementing, and evaluating systems and measures in a State in order to detect nuclear and other radioactive material out of regulatory control in the State's interior by means of instrument alarms and information alerts. The guidance covers the planning of detection operations, equipment deployment and human resource development. This publication is intended for authorities responsible for designing, implementing, and sustaining nuclear security systems and measures within a State, such as personnel from the Ministry of Interior, Law Enforcement Agencies, Health Authorities, National Regulators, Emergency Response, and National Security Organizations.

This publication provides detailed guidance (i) on the identification of potential sabotage targets in a nuclear facility and possible vulnerabilities that could lead to unacceptable or high radiological consequences if an initiating event of malicious origin were to take place and (ii) on the identification of vital areas in nuclear facilities. It also includes guidance to assist States in accounting for the potential risks to a facility associated with stand-off sabotage attacks. This publication is intended to be used by States, competent authorities involved in protection against the sabotage of nuclear and other radioactive material, relevant technical and scientific support organizations, as well as the operators of associated facilities and activities.

This publication provides detailed guidance to States and their competent authorities on how to implement and maintain a nuclear security regime for the transport of nuclear and other radioactive material. The publication builds upon relevant recommendations in NSS No. 13 and NSS No. 14 and provides additional explanations of how to implement these recommendations in practice. This publication is intended for nuclear security regulatory bodies and may also be useful to operators, shippers, carriers and others with transport security responsibilities to design their transport security systems.