INMM 49TH Annual Meeting, July 13-17, 2008 Taking into Account Computer Based Systems Involved in the Field of`Physical Protection, Control and Management of Nuclear Materials

The French code of defence and the associated regulations set up a domestic system for protection and control of nuclear materials which include inspections of nuclear facilities and of nuclear materials. This regulatory system defines the principles and the general guidelines that must be implemented in order to prevent and immediately detect any disappearance, loss, theft or diversion of nuclear material. These principles and general guidelines apply to all nuclear material located on the French territory. The aim of the legislator can be summarized in the key words licensing, control and sanctions. While running the French verification program, experts assessing licensing files and on-field inspectors face an increasing number of computer base systems but also a growing complexity of computerized functions and software devices which directly participate to the physical protection, control and management of nuclear materials. While performing the vulnerability assessment of their protection systems, operators have to determine the sensitivity of computer base functions and software devices and to evaluate their impacts on this assessment. The competent authority and its technical support body have to analyse how operators identify sensitive computer base systems or functions, establish their sensitivity, choose which particular part to protect, deduce which measures to put in place and evaluate the impact of these measures on the level of protection and control. It is essential for the French verification program to focus on the most sensitive functions or system rather than to assess them all. At first this article will highlight the major issues related to the growing role of computer base measures and functions in the field of the physical protection and control of nuclear material. Then, in a second part, it will address the way the technical support body of the authority decided to deal with these issues in order to produce suitable internal guidance to the staff involved in evaluations of technical files and in on-field inspections. 1 The “Institut de radioprotection et de sûreté nucléaire” (IRSN) is the French public expert body in charge of the scientific and technical assessment of nuclear and radiological risks 2 The Nuclear defence expertise division of IRSN is the public expert in the field of protection and control of nuclear materials, protection of facilities against malevolent action and safety issues in defence related facilities Taking into Account Computer Based Systems Involved in the Field of Physical Protection, Control and Management of Nuclear Materials Eric GOSSET ; Bruno AUTRUSSON ; Pascal CORNU ; Flavien LEMOINE ; Olivier LOISEAU ; Fabienne BRAINA