Year
2003
Abstract
“Rules for Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials, Nuclear Facilities, and Nuclear Material Storage Sites” (Rules for Physical Protection, No. 264), approved by the government of the Russian Federation in 1997, provided a framework for addressing the current challenges and incorporating international approaches to physical protection (PP) of nuclear materials (NM) at nuclear sites and during their transportation. MinAtom of Russia used this regulatory document (RD) as the cornerstone to develop a significant number of industry-level regulations. Many of these documents were developed as part of the joint US-Russian MPC&A Program supported by the US Department of Energy. The set of regulatory documents developed by MinAtom for use at the industry-level incorporated international practices and experience in the area of NM physical protection, as well as the expert knowledge and experience of the US and Russian participants in the project. Such documents developed by MinAtom will assure a uniform and consistent application of physical protection principles and will facilitate improvement of sitelevel documents across the MinAtom complex. A new version of Physical Protection Rules to replace Rule 264 is being developed now, using the existing regulatory documents. A new version of Physical Protection Rules will lead to development of regulations requiring the use of mandatory procedures (site vulnerability assessment (VA) and assessment of PP system (PPS) effectiveness) rather than the use of prescriptive quantitative requirements. Increased flexibility will allow each site to tailor cost-effective design approaches to specific facility circumstances. The excellent cooperation and mutual respect between the Russian and American participants have facilitated development of this regulatory development environment. This paper will detail the status and plans for the future of the regulatory aspect of the MPC&A Program.