10 CFR 73.40 - Physical protection: General requirements at fixed sites.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its regulations that govern packaging and transportation of radioactive material and physical protection of plants and materials. Specifically, the amendments require licensees to provide advance notification to participating Federally-recognized Tribal governments regarding shipments of irradiated reactor fuel and certain nuclear wastes for any shipment that passes within or across their reservations. The rule extends to Tribal officials, his or her designee, and Tribal law enforcement personnel relief from fingerprinting requirements required for access to Safeguards Information (SGI). The participating Tribal government is required to protect the shipment information as SGI.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is amending its regulations to require non-power reactor (NPR) licensees to obtain fingerprint-based criminal history records checks before granting any individual unescorted access to their facilities. This action complies with the requirements of Section 652 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct), which amended Section 149 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (AEA), to require fingerprinting and a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identification and criminal history records checks of individuals permitted unescorted access to a utilization facility.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is denying a petition for rulemaking (PRM), PRM-73-15, dated September 15, 2011, which was filed with the NRC by George Hamawy (the petitioner). The petitioner requested that the NRC amend its regulations to require the installation of radiation alarms for rooms housing neutron sources.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its regulations to establish security requirements for the use and transport of category 1 and category 2 quantities of radioactive material. The NRC considers these quantities to be risk significant and, therefore, to warrant additional protection. Category 1 and category 2 thresholds are based on the quantities established by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in its Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources, which the NRC endorses. The objective of this final rule is to provide reasonable assurance of preventing the theft or diversion of category 1 and category 2 quantities of radioactive material. The regulations also include security requirements for the transportation of irradiated reactor fuel that weighs 100 grams or less in net weight of irradiated fuel. The final rule affects any licensee that possesses an aggregated category 1 or category 2 quantity of radioactive material, any licensee that transports these materials using ground transportation, and any licensee that transports small quantities of irradiated reactor fuel. The rule also considers a petition for rulemaking (PRM-71-13) submitted by the State of Washington that requested that the NRC adopt the use of global positioning satellite tracking as a national requirement for vehicles transporting highly radioactive mobile or portable radioactive devices.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is proposing regulations that would implement its authority under Section 161A of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (AEA), and revise existing regulations governing security event notifications. The NRC proposed new regulations on February 3, 2011, that would implement its authority under Section 161A. The NRC is now proposing to further revise its regulations that address the voluntary application for enhanced weapons authority, preemption authority, and the mandatory firearms background checks under Section 161A to include as a class of designated facilities at-reactor, independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSIs).

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its regulations that govern packaging and transportation of radioactive material and physical protection of plants and materials. Specifically, the amendments require licensees to provide advance notification to participating Federally-recognized Tribal governments regarding shipments of irradiated reactor fuel and certain nuclear wastes for any shipment that passes within or across their reservations. The rule extends to Tribal officials, his or her designee, and Tribal law enforcement personnel relief from fingerprinting requirements required for access to Safeguards Information (SGI). The participating Tribal government is required to protect the shipment information as SGI.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is amending its regulations to require non-power reactor (NPR) licensees to obtain fingerprint-based criminal history records checks before granting any individual unescorted access to their facilities. This action complies with the requirements of Section 652 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct), which amended Section 149 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (AEA), to require fingerprinting and a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identification and criminal history records checks of individuals permitted unescorted access to a utilization facility.