NRC Publishes Annual Report to Congress on Nuclear Security Inspections

Nuclear Regulatory Commission - News Release
No: 22-045 November 3, 2022
CONTACT: David McIntyre, 301-415-8200 

NRC Publishes Annual Report to Congress on Nuclear Security Inspections

 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has made publicly available an unclassified version of its annual report to Congress detailing the prior year’s security inspection program.

 

The report is required under the Energy Policy Act of 2005. It covers the NRC’s security inspection program, including force-on-force exercises for commercial nuclear power reactors and Category I fuel cycle facilities for calendar year 2021. It provides information regarding the overall security and safeguards performance of the commercial nuclear power industry and Category I fuel cycle facilities to keep Congress and the public informed of the NRC’s efforts to oversee the protection of the nation’s civilian nuclear power infrastructure and strategic special nuclear material.

 

In 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the NRC conducted 176 security inspections at commercial nuclear power plants and Category I fuel cycle facilities. These inspections included 18 full triennial force-on-force inspections at nuclear power plants, involving simulated attacks on the facilities to test the effectiveness of a licensee’s physical protection program, and one triennial force-on-force inspection conducted at a Category I fuel cycle facility

 

The NRC’s security inspection program and publicly available results are discussed in the report.

 

Whenever NRC inspectors identify a security finding during an inspection, they ensure the licensee implements appropriate compensatory measures to correct the situation, if not already implemented by the licensee. Details of security findings are considered sensitive and not released to the public.

22-045.pdf