Managing Safety, Security, and Safeguards (3S) Relationship: A National Regulatory Authority Perspective United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The United States of America Nuclear Regulatory Commission (US NRC) is the national regulatory authority (NRA) for NRC licensed nuclear facilities in the United States and responsible for ensuring effective safety, security and safeguards measures are implemented at these facilities. The NRA of any State performs regulatory activities consistent with the degree of risk reduction achieved while appropriately balancing the interest of the public and licensees. An effective NRA should also respect the value added in utilizing the recently proposed 3S (safety, security and safeguards) concept adopted from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Nuclear Energy Series Guidance (NG-G-3.1) document presented at the 2008 G8 Summit in Japan. Important to the management of risks associated with loss of nuclear material as a function of its usefulness in constructing a weapon or sabotage within a facility itself is the effective implementation of international obligations and guidance described by the IAEA in 3S activities. Similar to other States already using nuclear energy, the 3S concept will need to evolve throughout all life-cycle phases of facilities while handling, accounting for, and protecting nuclear materials. Global expansion of nuclear energy will benefit greatly by integrating safety, security and safeguards through the 3S concept—3S by design (3SBD) early in the design phase of front end fuel cycle facilities, reactors and spent fuel storage facilities. This paper will describe possible considerations by the NRC in pursuit of managing risk informed integration of safety, security and safeguards from the proposed 3S perspective.