Physical Protection of Nuclear Facilities and Materials

This chapter offers perspectives on protecting nuclear facilities and materials from external threats and how these approaches have evolved over time. The authors also identify new technologies and practices to mitigate threats to facilities and materials. Indian author Anil Kumar argues that physical protection systems must employ defense in depth and follow a graded approach, increasing or decreasing with the potential threat to various materials and systems. Kumar specifically focuses on the challenge of transporting nuclear and radiological materials safely. U.S. authors James McCue and Alan Evans describe the Design Evaluation Process Outline (DEPO) process through which U.S. physical protection systems are constructed and discuss how it could be improved. They explain how the DEPO process applies to physical protection systems in ICBM launch facilities as well as to transportation scenarios.