Evaluating the State of Physical Protection System at a Nuclear Facility

The objective of this paper is to share our experience in evaluating the state of a physical protection system at a nuclear facility, using the Rivine Nuclear Power Plant as an example. The evaluation of the state of a physical protection system is a procedure defined by the State Inspectorate Office of the Nuclear Regulatory Authority of Ukraine, The objective of such an evaluation is to verify that the physical protection system meets the requirements of current laws and regulations. Such an evaluation is performed by the operators, using their own experts, or engaging another organization to do that. The evaluation is conducted in those cases when there are changes in the design threat definition, changes in the laws or regulations governing the physical protection of nuclear facilities, when a physical protection system at a nuclear facility has been modified or upgraded, or when the number of adversaries’ target or their locations have changed; it can also be conducted at the request of the regulatory authority. The results of the evaluation of the state of the physical protection system allows one to determine the degree to which the current physical protection system meets the requirements of the existing laws and regulations, and to develop a plan and a set of measures to correct the identified deficiencies. The urgency of issues concerning the evaluation of the state of physical protection systems at Ukrainian nuclear facilities is underscored by the fact that the current laws and regulations governing physical protection of nuclear facilities are undergoing vigorous revisions and refinements to improve them, new requirements for physical protection of nuclear facilitates are being developed, and new, upgraded physical protection equipment and devices are being deployed.