Application of the Methodology for evaluating the level of Nuclear Security Culture at Nuclear Site

Top-priority for the problem of secure nuclear materials (NM) management is a keystone requirement for further development of nuclear power industry. Practice shows that security of nuclear enterprises, in addition to improvement of technical and engineering resources, is defined by recognition of responsibility for any security-related actions of all staff members, by their deep knowledge and understanding of basic principles and security conditions. Therefore Culture of NM management, including Culture of NM physical protection, control and accounting (MPC&A) represents a natural component of security systems at Russian nuclear dangerous objects (NDO). Activities in the area of the Nuclear Security Culture (NSC) upgrading are aimed at contributing to forming of the thinking mode on NM security and integrity assurance. Currently, the problems of the NSC upgrading are being successfully solved within the framework of Russian-American collaboration, so-called NSC Project, which has been underway since 2003. The main purpose of the NSC Project is to render assistance to nuclear enterprises in the NSC upgrading, including all NM management activities, and, as a consequence, to reduce the risk of various threats caused by human factor effects. In essence, this approach is a logical extension of the security culture ideology proposed by the IAEA. The following Russian institutions participate in realization of the NSC Project: • State Research Center “Institute of Physics and Power Engineering” (Obninsk); • Joint Institute of Nuclear Researches (Dubna); • Russian Research Center - Kurchatov Institute (Moscow); • Federal State Unitarian Enterprise Scientific Research Institute Scientific Industrial Association “Luch” (Podolsk); • Federal State Unitarian Enterprise “All-Russian R&D Institute of Devices” (Lytkarino); • Federal State Unitarian Enterprise “Bochvar All-Russian R&D Institute of Inorganic Materials” (Moscow); • Moscow Engineering Physics Institute (Moscow); • Saint-Petersburg Institute of Nuclear Physics (Saint-Petersburg); • Federal State Unitary Enterprise “State Scientific Center of Russian Federation- Research Institute of Atomic Reactors” (Dimitrovgrad).