Indonesian Experience with Self Assessment Evaluation Tabletop Exercise of Physical Protection

Indonesia operates three nuclear research centers for a wide variety of peaceful purposes. The National Nuclear Energy Agency of Indonesia (BATAN) operates these three research reactors along with two radiological research facilities. BATAN’s nuclear research centers are located in Bandung, Yogyakarta, and Serpong, and the radiological research facilities are located at Pasar Jum’at, Jakarta, and at the BATAN Head Office in Jakarta. The largest research reactor in Indonesia is located in Serpong at the National Center for Science and Technology Development (PUSPIPTEK), which is also called the Serpong Nuclear Research Center. The Serpong Nuclear Research Center comprises several nuclear installations including the G.A. Siwabessy research reactor as well as facilities for fuel element production, radiometallurgy, radioisotopes, and radioactive waste. BATAN implements physical protection at Serpong, Bandung, Yogyakarta, as well as its radiological facilities, in accordance with national regulations, which are based on international guidance. (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) BATAN is responsible for the physical protection of nuclear materials, including security systems and response personnel. Terrorist attacks around the world and within Indonesia have increased the potential risk to nuclear and radiological facilities in Indonesia. For this reason, both the Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency (BAPETEN, the national regulator) and BATAN have increased their commitment to improve the protection of nuclear and radiological materials. (6) (7) The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) have supported Indonesia’s efforts in improving nuclear security, and have played a vital role in increasing the knowledge of personnel working at BATAN’s facilities. (8) The U.S. DOE, through the Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI), has been cooperating with the Indonesian government to implement physical protection upgrades at its research reactors and radiological facilities since 2003. In addition, GTRI has conducted security trainings and workshops and shared best practices on the physical protection of nuclear and radiological materials. (9) In September 2010, a GTRI team of experts from Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) held a tabletop self- assessment exercise at BATAN’s Serpong facility to evaluate the site’s response effectiveness. BATAN’s response force includes dedicated on-site security guards for the primary protection of its facilities. These security guards are augmented by off-site response forces consisting of local police and the military territorial command. The tabletop exercise was used to evaluate these response forces as part of the overall security system. On-site security guards, off-site response force personnel, facility operators, facility security staff, and regulatory body personnel participated in the tabletop exercise. The goal of the tabletop exercise was to determine the security system’s effectiveness, primarily through the evaluation of response force procedures. The tabletop exercise is one part of the Indonesian process to review the adequacy of existing security measures, including the regulatory framework for physical protection. This exercise was extremely helpful for the site’s continuing effort to implement effective physical protection. The result of the exercise dramatically improved understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the security system. The purpose of this paper is to share Indonesia’s experience with the tabletop exercise.