Nuclear Power Plant Security and Vulnerabilities

The physical security of nuclear power plants and their vulnerability to deliberate acts of terrorism was elevated to a national security concern following the September 11, 2001 attacks. Since then, Congress has repeatedly focused oversight and legislative attention on nuclear power plant security requirements established and enforced by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission NRC. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 P.L. 109-58 imposed specific criteria for NRC to consider in revising the Design Basis Threat DBT, which specifies the maximum severity of potential attacks that a nuclear plants security force must be capable of repelling. In response to the legislative mandate, NRC revised the DBT 10 C.F.R. Part 73.1 on April 18, 2007. Among other changes, the revisions expanded the assumed capabilities of adversaries to operate as one or more teams and attack from multiple entry points.