ML19271B242
| ML19271B242 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 10/30/1981 |
| From: | Dircks W NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO) |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19255A661 | List: |
| References | |
| REF-10CFR9.7, TASK-RIA, TASK-SE SECY-81-625, NUDOCS 8111270336 | |
| Download: ML19271B242 (21) | |
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October 30, 1981 RULEMAKING ISSUE (Affirmation)
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From:
William J. Dircks
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A Executive Director for Operations Subj ect:
FINAL RULE ON INTRANSIT PHYSICAL PROTECTION OF SPECIAL NUCLEAR MATERIAL OF MODERATE STRATEGIC SIGNIFICANCE (10 CFR Part 73)
Purpose:
To obtain Comission approval to publish in final form amendments to 10 CFR Part 73 regarding early detection of the theft of intransit special nuclear material of moderate strategic significance.
Catecory:
Minor policy question requiring Commission approval.
Discussion:
Background
On June 15, 1981, the Conmission published in the Federal Register [46 FR 31267] proposed amendments to 10 CFR Part 73 to improve licensee capabilities for early detection of theft of intransit special nuclear material of moderate strategic significance. The intent of the proposed amendments was to provide close monitoring of shipments of this material in CONTACT:
C. K. Nulsen, SGRI 42-74181 9111270336 e11030 LF SLfBJ CF h
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. order to achieve sufficiently early detection of their loss.
This would help the Cormission prevent the theft of additional material before a lost shipment has been accounted for.
The amendments included requirements for (1) use of locked cargo compartments and temporary storage areas, (2) frequent enroute communications, and (3) employment of exclusive use trucks or signature acknowledgement of custody transfers for road shipments. Public comments were received from eight respondents.
Response to Comments All but one of the commenters expressed concern that the amendments were not needed and that they would impose requirements which could not be met unless licensees utilized exclusive use vehicles for all road shipments. As a result of staff analysis of the comments received, the staff has made several changes in the final amendments relative to those proposed. The substantive changes are primarily intend-ed to better reflect realities in the air and motor freight industries and should make it possible for licensees to comply with safeguards requirements even when less-than-truckload road shipments are involved. The final amendments will provide a level of protection equivalent to that of the proposed amendments.
The most significant changes are as follows:
(1)
Locking requirements. The proposed amendments required the material to be transported in locked cargo compartments and to be kept under lock when in temporary storage enroute.
These requirements were seen by several commenters as impractical since aircraft generally do not have lockable Cdrgo compartments and the frequent loading and ua'oading of freight would make compliance impossible in the cJe of motor freight shipments unless exclusive use vehicles were used at a significant additional expense.
The final amendments provide that shipments be kept under lock or under the control of a responsible individual. The alterifative of maintaining the material under the control of the responsible individual would entail either keeping the material under direct observation, or periodically checking the shipment or the sealed compartment in which the material is kept.
Given these changes, the final amendments could be complied with for less-than-truckload shipments provided that special
. arrangements can be made with the carrier.
Similar service is provided for other materials, such as explosives. The potential for providing these special services was found to exist in the case of at least one motor freight carrier who had previously handled SNM shipments for licensees.
The additional cost of these services would be much less than if an exclusive use vehicle was utilized.
In the case of air shipments, while on the ground the shipment is kept under continuous control of the signatory crew chief at each air terminal. The loading and unloading of all shipments are checked and controlled by these crew chiefs against a signed manifest to provide assurance that the protected shipment is not unloaded in error. This satisfies the requirement for control by a responsible individual through periodic checking of the shipment.
While in the air, the shipment is under the control of the flight crew and protected by the impracticability of removing the cargo during flight.
(2) Communications. Commenters indicated that carriers for less-than-truckload shipments would find the requirement for periodic communications between the licensee and the transport vehicle impractical, and therefore would refuse to carry the shipments. This could effectively force licensees to use exclusive use vehicles. The intent of the amendments, to provide for closer monitoring of shipments, could be served as well by frequent licensee requests for shipment status reports from the carrier, as opposed to directly ccamunicating with the transport vehicle.
In this regard, tracing services featuring computerized data bases were found to be available from several air and motor freight carriers at no additional cost to the licensees. The shipment data in these systems were reported to be updated every 10 to 14 hours1.62037e-4 days <br />0.00389 hours <br />2.314815e-5 weeks <br />5.327e-6 months <br /> in the case of road shipments, and more frequently in the case of air shipments.
Other minor changes in the proposed amendments and other responses to coments which did not result in changes are described in the attached draft Federal Register notice (Enclosure A).
NRC Resources There are no significant increases in NRC resources needed to implement the final amendments.
Recommendations:
That the Commission:
1.
Approve the amendments set forth in Enclosure A for putincation in final form in the Federal Register.
. 2.
Note that the amendments will become effective 30 2G5ii after publication in the Federal Register.
3.
Note that Regulatory Guide 5.59 will be amended as necessary in accordance with the changes in the regulation.
4.
Note that the appropriate Congressional Committees IFIff be notified of this Commission action.
5.
Note that neither an environmental impact statement nor a negative declaration is required in accordance with 10 CFR 51.5(d)(3) because the final amendments are considered nonsubstantial and insignificant from the standpoint of environmental impact.
6.
Note that the information collection requireuents of these amendments have been reviewed by the Office of Hanagement and Budget and have been approved ur. des' OMB approval No. 3150-0002 (expires May 31,1983).
7.
Note that this final rule will be distributed directly to affected licensees by ADM:TIDC.
8.
Certity that this final rule will not have a signif-icant economic impact upon a substantial number of small entities. Transportation costs will be in-creased but will generally remain under 1% of the total value of the material shipped. This certifi-cation is required to satisfy the requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 605(b)',.
9.
Note that the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Eusiness Administration will be informed of this certification and the reasons for it, as required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 605(b)).
)
,L-Will' am J. Dircks t
Executive Director for Operations
Enclosures:
A - Draf t Federal Register Notice B - Draft Letter to Congress C - Draf t Public Announcement (to be provided)
. Commissioners' comments or consent should be provided directly to the Office of the Secretary by c o.b. Wednesday, November 18, 1981.
Commission Staff Office comments, if any, should be submitted to the Commissioners NLT November 10, 1981, with an information copy to the Office of the Secretary.
If the paper is of such a nature that it requires additional time for analytical review and comment, the Commissioners and the Secretariat should be apprised of when comments may be expected.
This paper is tentatively scheduled for affirmation at an open meeting during the week of November 20, 1981.
Please refer to the appropriate weekly Commission schedule, when published, f6r a specific date and time.
DISTRIBUTION:
Commissioners Commission Staff Offices Exec Dir for Operations ACRS ASLBP ASLAP Secretariat
O ENCLOSURE A
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 10 CFR Part 73 Physical Protection of Intransit Special Nuclear Material of Moderate Strategic Significance AGENCY:
Nuclear Regulatory Comission.
ACTION:
Final Rule.
SUMMARY
The Nuclear Regulatory Comission is amending its physical protection regulations for special nuclear material of moderate strategic significance to improve licensee safeguards capabilities for early detaction of the possible theft of this material while it is in transit. These improvements include (1) maintaining the material under lock or under the control of a responsible individual, (2) con-firming the status of shipments while enroute, and (3) employment of either dedicated use transports or signature acknowledgement of custody of shipments. The intent of these amendments is to assure close monitoring of shipments of special nuclear material of moderate strategic signficance in order to achieve early detection of loss or theft of the material so that repeated thefts can be prevented.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
FOR FURTHER INFOPy,ATION CONTACT: Mr. C. K. Nulsen, Regulatory Improvements Branch, Division of Safeguards, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U. S.
Nuclear Pegulatory Comission, k'ashington, D. C.
20555, (301) 427-4181.
' Insert cate 30 cays af ter publication in the Federal Register.
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SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission has been concerned that possible multiple thefts of special nuclear material (SNM) of moderate strategic significance could result in the accumulation by an adversary of more strategically significant quantities of special nuclear material. To help prevent this, current physical protection requirements for SNM of moderate strategic significance were des',gned to help provide early detection of an initial theft of this material. Ea'/ly detection would allow the Commission to take further actions to assure that additional thefts could be prevented before the lost or stolen material was accounted for. On June 15, 1981, the Commission published proposed amendments
- in the Federal Register [46 FR 31267] to require additional physical protection for intransit SNM of moderate strategic significance. These amendments were to improve the licensee's capabilities for early detectien of possible thefts of the material by requiring (1) use of locked cargo compartments er temporary intran:;it storage areas containing the material while enroute, (2) periodic communications
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between the licensee and the transport vehicle, and (3) employment of exclusive use vehicles or signature acknowlegement of all custody transfers for road shipments. A sixty-day comment period expired on August 15, 1981. Comments were received from right respondents.
The proposed amendments have been modified in response to the comments received, and will be published in final form, as modified, to becone effective 30 days after publication of this notice. Changes were made in response to the public cc: rents to better reflect services which could be provided by comon carrier (s),
and also to provide clarification where recessary. A sumary of the public coments and, where appropriate, a description of the changes that resulted from them follows:
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(1)
Need for these amendments. All but one of the commenters questioned the need for additional physical protection requirements for the affected shipments.
They suggested that current requirements allowing the NRC to order delays in these shipments to keep formula quantities of SSNM from being in transit at the same time would be unnecessarily redundant with additional physical protection requirements for individual shipments.
The final amendments complement existing regulations which allow the NRC to order shipme.;; delays for safeguards purposes. They provide for closer licensee control over shipments and better tracecbility so that the chances of having to delay a shipment will be decreased. With regard to the conment concerning those shipments of low enriched uranium covered by these amendments, it should be noted that it is unlikely that shipments of low enriched uranium large enough to be affected by the proposed amendments would occur. The reason that large quantity shipments of low enriched uranium are subject.to these amendments is because of commitments to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
(2)
Locking requirements. The proposed amendments would have required the material to be transported in a locked cargo compartment, and during road shipment.c. to be kept under lock while in transit or in temporary storage enroute. Many concenters noted that these locking requirements would be impossible to comply with in the case of less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments and most air shipments, the modes primarily used in past shipments. The loading and unloading of other cargo, it was stated, precludes maintaining the material continuously under lock. Also, most aircraft do not have lockable cargo compartments. It was also stated that storage of the material in a locked area was not always feasible for import and export shipments.
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It was anticipated by commenters that some carriers might refuse to carry the material if the proposed amendments became effective, and that less-than-truckload shipments would be effectively eliminated.
Commenters also questioned whether the purpose of the proposed locking requirements was to prevent rather thar, detect theft.
The final amendments permit an alternative to the lock requirements. Tnis alternative provides for maintaining the material under the control of a respon-sible individual wheta the use of locks is not practicable.
Under this alternative, the shipment should be kept under continuous observation or be checked periodically by a responsible individual to assure its continued integrity.
Periodic checking of the shipment could be facilitated by inspecting the seals required on NRC-approved shipping containers, or by use of an appropriate seal placed on the cargo compart-ment or temporary storage areas containing the shipment. The responsible individual also should assure the correct routing of the shipment, and shou'd assure that the licensee or its designee is notified imediately if the material is determined to be missing. The responsible individual in each case will be required to be an individual who has acknowledged by signature acceptance of custody of the material.
For air shipments these requirements could be satisfied by requesting the signature security service provided by air carriers. This service provides routing control, surveillance and periodic checking of shipments. For road shipments, cornon carriers of less-than-truckload quantities should be able to provide service consistent with these requirements under special arrangements, and at a cost less than what would be charoed for an exclusvie use vehicle.
A revised regulatory guide will be published to reflect these changes, which will describe in further detail the appropriate reans for complying with the requirements for maintaining control of the shipments.
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(3) Exclusive use vehicles. Some commenters questioned the use of the term
" exclusive use vehicle."
It was claimed that prohibiting other cargo from being transported in the same vehicle with a shipment of SNM of moderate strategic significance would not necessarily affect the security of the shipment and thus is unjustified. The term " exclusive use vehicle" was used in the proposed amendments in reference to a type of service routinely offered in the motor freight industry.
In order to avoid confusion, the term exclusive use vehicle" does not appear in the final amendments. More descriptive language focusing only on the security aspects of these shipments has been substituted.
One commenter also suggested that the requirement for exclusive use vehicles goes beyond the stated objective of the proposed rule.
Since use of an exclusive use vehicle itself would not prevent the theft of this material, it would not appear to be inconsistent with assuring early detection of a possible theft. Alsc, it should be noted that the final amendments permit the use of alternative means for satisfying this objective.
(4)
Communications.
Some commenters considered the proposed requirement for periodic communications between the shipper, receiver, or their designee, and the transport vehicle to be unnecessary since they supplement existing require-ments for tracing lost or unaccounted for shipments and notifying authorities.
It also was suggested that comunications more often than every several hours would slow shipments, greatly increase operating costs, and effectively eliminate less-than-truckload shipments. Conversely, however, one commenter endorsed the proposed. periodic communications requirement and suggested exclusive use vehicles be used, equipped with satellite-based navigation receivers and transmitters.
Some commenters questioned specifically whether communications would be required during periods when the 5 ipment was in temporary storage, and whether the
recuirement was intended to apply to all nodes or only to road shipments.
With regard to the periodic communications requirement, the objective of early detection could be achieved by periodic reports from the carrier on the shipment's status relative to a predetermined itinerary. Several airfreight and motor freight carriers who have previously handled shipments of special nuclear material are known to provide the appropriate tracing services at no additional cost. Comput-erized data bases maintained by some of the motor freight carriers are generally updated every 10 to 14 hours1.62037e-4 days <br />0.00389 hours <br />2.314815e-5 weeks <br />5.327e-6 months <br /> and more frequently in the case of air sh'pments.
Concerning the use of a satellite communications system, as suggested by one commenter, this could conceivably satisfy the preposed communicatf ors rcquirements but it would not be appropriate fcr the Commission to require a particular system design er type of hardware in preference to other acceptable alternatives.
(5)
Cost effectiveness. Some commenters stated that the proposed anendments would result in cost increases that would have a significant impact on the cperations of nonpower reactor facilities which must financially justify their existe.nce even though they might be subsidiaries of much larger companies er instituticrs.
Generally, these statements appear to have been vesed en the premise that the proposed ameruments wtuid force licensees to utilize exclasise uIe vehicles for rced portiens cf shipments in preference to less-than-truciload shipments.
As stated earlier, the additional physical protection neasures included in the proposed amendments were not intended to ferre licensees to util17.e exclusive use vehicles for road shipments. Based upon informatico developed in staff incuiries, the modifications to the preposed anendments a 'll.nake it possible for licensees to satisfy the additional physical protection recuirements for shlp-6
ments of FNM of moderate strategic significance while continuing to employ common carriert provided they can make special arrangemerts fbr the required services. This should be possible to arrange at a cost significantly less than if an exclusive use vehicle were required. Thus the Commission has determined tint the additional physical protection measures are cost effective in balancing the additienal protection provided 6Jainst the additional cost.
PAPERWORK REDUCTION STATEMENT The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has submitted this rule to the Office of Management and Budge + for such review as may be appropriate under the Paperwork Reductica Act, P L.96-511. The 5F-3, " Request for Clthr ance," Suppcrting Statement, and other related docum.ntat?on submitted to CM5 have been placed in the Public Document Room at 1717 h St., N.W., Washington, DC 20555 for inspection and copyin2 for a fee. The applicatica requirements contained in this regulation have been approved by the Office of Management and Bu~dget; OMB approval No. 3150-0002 (expires May 31, 1983).
REGL'LATORY FLEXIBILITY STATEMENT In accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, 5 U.S.C 605(b), the Commission hereby certifies that this rule, if promulgatec, wH1 r.ot have a signi-ficant economic impact on a substantiil number of small entities. This proposed rule would amend 10 CFR Part 73 lo' require certain feprovements in the capabilities of physical protectico syster,s provided by licensees tc pro +.ect against the thef t or loss of special nuclear material of moderate strategic signficar.ce while th:s material is in tr nsit. These improvements would increase the cost of shipment of this material in absolute terms, but the total costr of transportation would 7
generally remain lesss than one precent of the value of the material shipped.
In addition, the number of shipments expected to be made annually is quite low, estimated to be about thirty shipments per year based upon past experience in the nuclear industry. The licensees who could be affected by these amendments number approximately 37 possessing special nuclear material of moderate strategic significance, 27 of which operate nonpower reactors. In addition to these 37 licensees, there are about six licensees possessir.g formula quantities of strategic special nuclear material who may occassionally choose to ship their material in less than formula quantities. All the licensees potentially affected are either large private or state universities, large corporations, each employing in excess of 500 persons havings annual sales or revenues in excess of $1 million, or state or Federal agencies. Less than ten of the affected licensees are small colleges or businesses that fall within the scope of the definition of "small entities" set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility Act or the Small Business Size Standards in regulations issued by the Small Business Administration at 13 CFR Part 21.
Pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as amended, and section 553 of Title 5 of the United Stated Code, the following amendments to Title 10, Chapter I, Code of Federa! Regulations, Part 73, are published as a document subject to codification.
PART 73 - PHYSICAL PROTECTION OF PLANTS AND MATERIALS 1.
The authority citation for Part 73 continues to read as follows:
AUTHORITY: Secs. 53, 161b, 1611, 1610, Pub. L.85-703, 68 Stat. 930, 948-950, as anended, Pub. L.85-507, 72 Stat. 327, Pub. L.88-489, Stat. 602, Pub. L.93-377, 8
88 Stat. 475 (42 U.S.C. 2073, 2201); Sec. 201, Pub. L. 93 438, 88 Stat.,
1242, 1243, as amended, Pub. L. 94-79, 89 Stat. 413 (42 U.S.C. 5841). For the purposes of Sec. 223, 68 Stat. 958, as amended, (42 U.S.C. 2273), 573.55 is issued under Sec.161b, 68 Stat. 948, as amended, (42 U.S.C. 2201(b));
5573.20, 73.24, 73.25, 73.26, 73.27, 73.37, 73.40, 73.45, 73.46, 73.50, 73.55, and 73.67 are issued under Sec. 1611, 68 Stat. 949, as amended, (42 U.S.C. 2201(i)); and is 73.20(c)(i), 73.24(b)(i), 73.26(b)(3)
(h)(6), (f)(6) and (k)(4), 73.27(a) and (b), 73.40(b) and (d), 73.46(g)(6) and (h)(2), 73.50(g)(2), (3)(iii)(B) and (h),
73.55(h)(2), and (4)(iii)(B), 73.70, 73.71 and 73.72 are issued under Sec.161o, 68 Stat. 950, as amended, (42 U.S.C. 2201(o)).
2.
Paragraph (e) of 573.67 is amended by revising paragraphs Efe}f1}fi4t}r3 (e)(1)(iv), the first paragraph in (e)(3), paregraphs (e)(3)(1), (e)(3)(vi),
and by adding new paragraphs (fe}f1}fvi}-and3 (e)(3)(vii), (e)(3)(viii), (e){6) and fe)(7) to read as follows:*
573.67 Licensee fixed site and intransit requirements for the physical pro-tection of special nuclear material of moderate and low strategic sig-nificance.
(e)
(1)
[f 4 4 4 }--Transp ert-the-1:aterial-in-a-tawper-indicating-sealed-sentainsa-sne14s+4 in-a-leeked-earee-cempartment.3
- Comparative text relative to originally proposed amendments. Additions are underlined; deletions are bracketed and scored.
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(iv) Check the integrity of the container [r] and locks [and) or, seals prior to shipment.
[ f v i l --Mak e-aH -re e d -s h ipme n ts -e f -the -m a te ri al--e nly -i a -Mked -exeMM-use-v e h i c ie s -e r-e n de r-a r r a ng eme n t s -w he reby -t he -ma te ri-al -i a -t ra nsit -s e -ter9eraef s to r e g e - e n r e e t e -i s - e n d e r -le e k -a n d - a H -e e s te dy -t r a ns fe rs -a re -ae'eewledged -by signature-]
[*______________*______________*______________*______________t_]
(3)
Each licensee [--either-shipper-er-receiver-] who arranges for the intransit physical protection of special nuclear material of moderate strategic signiff-cance, or who takes delivery of this material free on board (f.o.b.) the point at which it is delivered to a carrier for transport shall:
(i)
Arrange for [e] telephone or radio communications [eapability] between the transport ard the licensee or its designee:
(A) to periodically confirm the status of the shipment, (B) for notification of any delays in the scheduled shipment, and (C) to recuest appropriate local law enforcement agency response in the event of an emergency.
(vi)
Initiate [Eendeet] immediately a trace investigation of any shipment that is [ Pep 6Pted) determined to be lost or unaccounted for after a reasonable time beyond the estimated arrival time at the final destination, or during the course of the shipmant, and report to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission as specified in 573.71 and to the shipper or receiver, as apprcpriate.
Also, [The-lisensee-who-mads-the-phys 4 cal-pectectien-arranyents.-shall-al-so]
immediately notify the Director of the appropriate Nuclear Regulatory Commission Inspection and Enforcement Regional Office l'isted in Appendix A to this part of the action being taken to trace the shipment.
(vii)
[ Arrange-far pericdtc ecamantcattens-between-the-transport wh h.tr a nd-th e - s h i p pe r-- re c e i ve r-e r -the i rde s ig n ee ; -ts -e e n H r:n -tha -s ta ttts -of -the-shipment-] Make all shipments of the material either (A) in dedicated transports with no intermediate stops to load or unload other cargo and with no custody or vehicle transfers or temporary storage enroute, or (B) under arrangements whereby the custody of the shipments and all custody transfers are acknowledged by signature.
(viii) Maintain the material under lock, or under the control of an individual who has acknowledged acceptance of custody of the material by signature.
(6) Submit by *
, a security plan or an amended security plan describing how the licensee will comply with all requirements of 573.67(e)(1),
(e)(2) and (e)(3), as appropriate, including schedules of implementation.
(7) Within 180 days af^er the effective date of these amendments (**
)
- Insert date 120 days af ter the cate of publication in the Federal Register.
- Insert date 210 days af ter the date of publication in the Federal Register.
11
or 60 days after the plan (s) submitted pursuant to paragraph (e)(6) of this section is approved, whichever is later, implement the approved security plan.
Dated at Washington, D.C. this ~
day of
, 1981.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Comission Samuel J. Chilk Secretary of the Comission 12
ENCLOSURE B
On PEcp UNITED STATES
/
[e, NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMM!ss!ON
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[ ^g WASHINGTON, D. C. 20555 Yikhl gs
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The Honorable Morris K. Udall, Chairman Subcomittee on Energy and the Environment Comittee on Interior and Insular Affairs United States House of Representatives Washington, 3C 20515
Dear Mr. Chaiiman:
The Nuclear Regu'etory Comission is amending its physical protection regulations to improve licensee safeguards capabilities for early detection of loss or theft of intransit special nuclear material of moderate strategic significance. The intent of the new regulations is to assure close monitoring of shipments of this material in order to achieve detection of its loss or thef t in time to help the NRC prevent the loss or theft of additional quantities of the material. Multiple thefts of shipments of this material could result in the accumulation by an adversary of quantities of greater strategic significance than that of a single shipment.
The additional safeguards measures required include:
(1) maintaining the material either under lock or under the control of a responsible individual, (2) periodic comunications to confirm the status of the shipment, and (3) utilization of dedicated use transports or signature acknowledgement of custody of the material.
The enclosed Federal Regi. ster notice and public announcement further describe the subject amendments.
Sincerely,
John G. Davis, Director Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Encicsures:
As stated cc:
The Honorable Manual Lujan, Jr.
Enclosure B
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EP ENCLOSURE C
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(T0 BE PROVIDED)
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