THE SAFEGUARDS EQUATION – INTEGRATION OF PHYSICAL PROTECTION, MATERIAL CONTROL AND ACCOUNTABILITY, AND PROTECTIVE FORCES

A nuclear materials protection, control and accountability system is a combination of people, technologies, procedures, policies, and support that work together to accomplish the overall goal of safeguarding nuclear material. Physical protection, material control and accountability (MC&A), and protective forces are the critical components that when properly applied and employed provide the necessary protection and control of nuclear material. The operative phrase “properly applied and employed” refers to an integrated system where the value of protection and control achieved is greater than the sum of its parts. Too often physical protection, material control and accountability (MC&A), as well as the actual physical security of nuclear facilities and nuclear material storage areas provided by protective forces are often thought as separate activities with little interface or relationship. However, in order to achieve the implementation of a coherent and integrated safeguards system it is necessary for subject matter experts in their respective fields to take an active interest in understanding how their respective knowledge area interfaces with another. Physical protection of nuclear material involves providing a system that detects intruders (or insider thieves) soon enough and provides enough delay so that adequate response can occur before the intruders complete their objectives. MC&A experts focus on developing, implementing, and operating systems that can ensure the accuracy of nuclear material measurements and integrity of those materials as they are moved and stored. Protective forces represent security resources that are actively involved in security assessment, response to situations, and neutralization of individuals who intend to steal or cause sabotage. It is through integration of these three principal activities at an early stage of system design and throughout the lifecycle of a safeguards system that true material protection and control will be achieved. Integrating three distinct disciplines while minimizing the impact on the operations of a facility presents major management and technical challenges. However, these challenges can be overcome when adopting systems engineering integration and project management approach to safeguards systems design.