Press Release-12-094, NRC Publishes Annual Security Inspection Report to Congress

Press Release-12-094: NRC Publishes Annual Security Inspection Report to Congress

ML12234A698
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Issue date:	08/21/2012
From:	Office of Public Affairs
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Press Release-12-094
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NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 E-mail: opa.resource@nrc.gov Site: www.nrc.gov Blog: http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov No.12-094 August 21, 2012 NRC PUBLISHES ANNUAL SECURITY INSPECTION REPORT TO CONGRESS The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has made available to the public an unclassified version of an annual report to Congress outlining the previous years security inspection program. The report is required under the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

The report covers the NRCs security inspection program, including force-on-force exercises, for commercial nuclear power reactors and Category I fuel cycle facilities for calendar year 2011.

We are pleased to provide this report to Congress, which demonstrates the NRCs ongoing commitment to ensuring nuclear power facilities in this country operate securely, said NRC Chairman Allison Macfarlane. This report reflects the rigor of our regulations, the expertise of our inspectors and the responsiveness of our licensees.

According to the report, the NRC conducted 193 baseline security inspections at commercial nuclear power plants and 24 force-on-force inspections, which use a well-trained mock adversary force to test a facilitys security posture. These inspections identified 151 findings, of which 140 findings were of very low security significance (or a green finding) and 11 were of violations considered to be of more than very low significance, although the specifics of the severity violations are not public. By comparison, there were 197 inspections (172 baseline and 25 force-on-force) and 144 findings in 2010, of which 133 were of very low security significance and 11 were of greater than very low security significance.

Whenever a finding is identified during a security inspection, the NRC ensures the issue is corrected immediately or compensatory measures are put in place, if necessary. Details of security findings are considered sensitive and not released to the public.

The public version of the report can be found on the NRC Website.

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