(a) A licensee physical protection system established pursuant to the general performance objective and requirements of § 73.20(a) and the performance capability requirements of § 73.45 shall include, but are not necessarily limited to, the measures specified in paragraphs (b) through (h) of this section. The Commission may require, depending on individual facility and site conditions, alternate or additional measures deemed necessary to meet the general performance objective and requirements of § 73.20. The Commission also may authorize protection measures other than those required by this section if, in its opinion, the overall level of performance meets the general performance objective and requirements of § 73.20 and the performance capability requirements of § 73.45.

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(b) Security organization. (1) The licensee shall establish a security organization, including guards. If a contract guard force is utilized for site security, the licensee’s written agreement with the contractor will clearly show that (i) the licensee is responsible to the Commission for maintaining safeguards in accordance with Commission regulations and the licensee’s security plan, (ii) the NRC may inspect, copy, and take away copies of all reports and documents required to be kept by Commission regulations, orders, or applicable license conditions whether such reports and documents are kept by the licensee or the contractor, (iii) the requirement, in § 73.46(b)(4) of this section that the licensee demonstrate the ability of physical security personnel to perform their assigned duties and responsibilities, include demonstration of the ability of the contractor’s physical security personnel to perform their assigned duties and responsibilities in carrying out the provisions of the Security Plan and these regulations, and (iv) the contractor will not assign any personnel to the site who have not first been made aware of these responsibilities.

(2) The licensee shall have onsite at all times at least one full time member of the security organization with authority to direct the physical protection activities of the security organization.

(3) The licensee shall have a management system to provide for the development, revision, implementation, and enforcement of security procedures. The system shall include:

(i) Written security procedures which document the structure of the security organization and which detail the duties of the Tactical Response Team, guards, watchmen, and other individuals responsible for security. The licensee shall retain a copy of the current procedures as a record until the Commission terminates the license for which these procedures were developed and, if any portion of these procedures is superseded, retain the superseded material for three years after each change; and

(ii) Provision for written approval of such procedures and any revisions thereto by the individual with overall responsibility for the security function.

(4) The licensee may not permit an individual to act as a Tactical Response Team member, armed response person, guard, or other member of the security organization unless the individual has been trained, equipped, and qualified to perform each assigned security duty in accordance with Appendix B of this part, “General Criteria for Security Personnel.” In addition, Tactical Response Team members, armed response personnel, and guards shall be trained, equipped, and qualified for use of their assigned weapons in accordance with paragraphs (b)(6) and (b)(7) of this section. Tactical Response Team members, armed response personnel, and guards shall also be trained and qualified in accordance with either paragraphs (b)(10) and (b)(11) or paragraph (b)(12) of this section. Upon the request of an authorized representative of the Commission, the licensee shall demonstrate the ability of the physical security personnel, whether licensee or contractor employees, to carry out their assigned duties and responsibilities. Each Tactical Response Team member, armed response person, and guard, whether a licensee or contractor employee, shall requalify in accordance with Appendix B of this part. Tactical Response Team members, armed response personnel, and guards shall also requalify in accordance with paragraph (b)(7) of this section at least once every 12 months. The licensee shall document the results of the qualification and requalification. The licensee shall retain the documentation of each qualification and requalification as a record for 3 years after each qualification and requalification.

(5) Within any given period of time, a member of the security organization may not be assigned to, or have direct operational control over, more than one of the redundant elements of a physical protection subsystem if such assignment or control could result in the loss of effectiveness of the subsystem.

(6) Each guard shall be armed with a handgun, as described in appendix B of this part. Each Tactical Response Team member shall be armed with a 9mm semiautomatic pistol. All but one member of the Tactical Response Team shall be armed additionally with either a shotgun or semiautomatic rifle, as described in appendix B of this part. The remaining member of the Tactical Response Team shall carry, as an individually assigned weapon, a rifle of no less caliber than .30 inches or 7.62mm.

(7) In addition to the weapons qualification and requalification criteria of appendix B of this part, Tactical Response Team members, armed response personnel, and guards shall qualify and requalify, at least every 12 months, for day and night firing with assigned weapons in accordance with Appendix H of this part. Tactical Response Team members, armed response personnel, and guards shall be permitted to practice fire prior to qualification and requalification but shall be given only one opportunity to fire for record on the same calendar day. If a Tactical Response Team member, armed response person, or guard fails to qualify or requalify, the licensee shall remove the individual from security duties which require the use of firearms and retrain the individual prior to any subsequent attempt to qualify or requalify. If an individual fails to qualify or requalify on two successive attempts, he or she shall be required to receive additional training and successfully fire two consecutive qualifying scores prior to being reassigned to armed security duties.

(i) In addition, Tactical Response Team members, armed response personnel, and guards shall be prepared to demonstrate day and night firing qualification with their assigned weapons at any time upon request by an authorized representative of the NRC.

(ii) The licensee or the licensee’s agent shall document the results of weapons qualification and requalification for day and night firing. The licensee shall retain the documentation of each qualification and requalification as a record for 3 years after each qualification and requalification.

(8) In addition to the training requirements contained in appendix B of this part, Tactical Response Team members shall successfully complete training in response tactics. The licensee shall document the completion of training. The licensee shall retain the documentation of training as a record for three years after training is completed.

(9) The licensee shall conduct Tactical Response Team and guard exercises to demonstrate the overall security system effectiveness and the ability of the security force to perform response and contingency plan responsibilities and to demonstrate individual skills in assigned team duties. During the first 12-month period following the date specified in paragraph (i)(2)(ii) of this section, an exercise must be carried out at least every three months for each shift, half of which are to be force-on-force. Subsequently, during each 12-month period commencing on the anniversary of the date specified in paragraph (i)(2)(ii) of this section, an exercise must be carried out at least every four months for each shift, one third of which are to be force-on-force. The licensee shall use these exercises to demonstrate its capability to respond to attempts to steal strategic special nuclear material. During each of the 12-month periods, the NRC shall observe one of the force-on-force exercises which demonstrates overall security system performance. The licensee shall notify the NRC of the scheduled exercise 60 days prior to that exercise. The licensee shall document the results of all exercises. The licensee shall retain the documentation of each exercise as a record for three years after each exercise is completed.

(10) In addition to the medical examinations and physical fitness requirements of paragraph I.C of Appendix B of this part, each Tactical Response Team member, armed response person, and guard, except as provided in paragraph (b)(10)(v) of this section, shall participate in a physical fitness training program on a continuing basis.

(i) The elements of the physical fitness training program must include, but not necessarily be limited to, the following:

(A) Training sessions of sufficient frequency, duration, and intensity to be of aerobic benefit, e.g., normally a frequency of three times per week, maintaining an intensity of approximately 75 percent of maximum heart rate for 20 minutes;

(B) Activities that use large muscle groups, that can be maintained continuously, and that are rhythmical and aerobic in nature, e.g., running, bicycling, rowing, swimming, or cross-country skiing; and

(C) Musculoskeletal training exercises that develop strength, flexibility, and endurance in the major muscle groups, e.g., legs, arms, and shoulders.

(ii) The licensee shall assess Tactical Response Team members, armed response personnel, and guards for general fitness once every 4 months to determine the effectiveness of the continuing physical fitness training program. Assessments must include a recent health history, measures of cardiovascular fitness, percent of body fat, flexibility, muscular strength, and endurance. Individual exercise programs must be modified to be consistent with the needs of each participating Tactical Response Team member, armed response person, and guard and consistent with the environments in which they must be prepared to perform their duties. Individuals who exceed 4 months without being assessed for general fitness due to excused time off from work must be assessed within 15 calendar days of returning to duty as a Tactical Response Team member, armed response person, or guard.

(iii) Within 30 days prior to participation in the physical fitness training program, the licensee shall give Tactical Response Team members, armed response personnel, and guards a medical examination including a determination and written certification by a licensed physician that there are no medical contraindications, as disclosed by the medical examination, to participation in the physical fitness training program.

(iv) Licensees may temporarily waive an individual’s participation in the physical fitness training program on the advice of the licensee’s examining physician, during which time the individual may not be assigned duties as a Tactical Response Team member.

(v) Guards whose duties are to staff the central or secondary alarm station and those who control exit or entry portals are exempt from the physical fitness training program specified in paragraph (b)(10) of this section, provided that they are not assigned temporary response guard duties.

(11) In addition to the physical fitness demonstration contained in paragraph I.C of Appendix B of this part, Tactical Response Team members, armed response personnel, and guards shall meet or exceed the requirements in paragraphs (b)(11)(i) through (b)(11)(v) of this section, except as provided in paragraph (b)(11)(vi) of this section, initially and at least once every 12 months thereafter.

(i) For Tactical Response Team members the criteria are a 1-mile run in 8 minutes and 30 seconds or less and a 40-yard dash starting from a prone position in 8 seconds or less. For armed response personnel and guards that are not members of the Tactical Response Team the criteria are a one-half mile run in 4 minutes and 40 seconds or less and a 40-yard dash starting from a prone position in 8.5 seconds or less. The test may be taken in ordinary athletic attire under the supervision of licensee designated personnel. The licensee shall retain a record of each individual’s performance for 3 years.

(ii) Incumbent Tactical Response Team members, armed response personnel, and guards shall meet or exceed the qualification criteria within 12 months of NRC approval of the licensee’s revised Fixed Site Physical Protection Plan. New employees hired after the approval date shall meet or exceed the qualification criteria prior to assignment as a Tactical Response Team member, armed response person, or guard.

(iii) Tactical Response Team members, armed response personnel, and guards shall be given a medical examination including a determination and written certification by a licensed physician that there are no medical contraindications, as disclosed by the medical examination, to participation in the physical fitness performance testing. The medical examination must be given within 30 days prior to the first administration of the physical fitness performance test, and on an annual basis thereafter.

(iv) The licensee shall place Tactical Response Team members, armed response persons, and guards, who do not meet or exceed the qualification criteria, in a monitored remedial physical fitness training program and relieve them of security duties until they satisfactorily meet or exceed the qualification criteria.

(v) Licensees may temporarily waive the annual performance testing for an individual on the advice of the licensee’s examining physician, during which time the individual may not be assigned duties as a Tactical Response Team member.

(vi) Guards whose duties are to staff the central or secondary alarm station and those who control exit or entry portals are exempt from the annual performance testing specified in paragraph (b)(11) of this section, provided that they are not assigned temporary response guard duties.

(12) The licensee may elect to comply with the requirements of this paragraph instead of the requirements of paragraphs (b)(10) and (b)(11) of this section. In addition to the physical fitness qualifications of paragraph I.C of Appendix B of this part, each licensee subject to the requirements of this section shall develop and submit to the NRC for approval site specific, content-based, physical fitness performance tests which will—when administered to each Tactical Response Team member, armed response person, or guard—duplicate the response duties these individuals may need to perform during a strenuous tactical engagement.

(i) The test must be administered to each Tactical Response Team member, armed response person, and guard once every 3 months. The test must specifically address the physical capabilities needed by armed response personnel during a strenuous tactical engagement at the licensed facility. Individuals who exceed 3 months without having been administered the test due to excused time off from work must be tested within 15 calendar days of returning to duty as a Tactical Response Team member, armed response person, or guard.

(ii) Within 30 days before the first administration of the physical fitness performance test, and on an annual basis thereafter, Tactical Response Team members, armed response personnel, and guards shall be given a medical examination including a determination and written certification by a licensed physician that there are no medical contraindications, as disclosed by the medical examination, to participation in the physical fitness performance test.

(iii) Guards whose duties are to staff the central or secondary alarm station and those who control exit or entry portals are exempt from the performance test specified in paragraph (b)(12) of this section, provided that they are not assigned temporary response guard duties.

(c) Physical barrier subsystems. (1) vital equipment must be located only within a vital area, and strategic special nuclear material must be stored or processed only in a material access area. Both vital areas and material access areas must be located within a protected area so that access to vital equipment and to strategic special nuclear material requires passage through at least three physical barriers. The perimeter of the protected area must be provided with two separated physical barriers with an intrusion detection system placed between the two. The inner barrier must be positioned and constructed to enhance assessment of penetration attempts and to delay attempts at unauthorized exit from the protected area. The perimeter of the protected area must also incorporate features and structures that prevent forcible vehicle entry. More than one vital area or material access area may be located within a single protected area.

(2) The physical barriers at the perimeter of the protected area shall be separated from any other barrier designated as a physical barrier for a vital area or material access area within the protected area.

(3) Isolation zones shall be maintained in outdoor areas adjacent to the physical barrier at the perimeter of the protected area and shall be large enough to permit observation of the activities of people on either side of that barrier in the event of its penetration. If parking facilities are provided for employees or visitors, they shall be located outside the isolation zone and exterior to the protected area.

(4) Isolation zones and all exterior areas within the protected area shall be provided with illumination sufficient for the monitoring and observation requirements of paragraphs (c)(3), (e)(8), (h)(4) and (h)(6) of this section, but not less than 0.2 footcandle measured horizontally at ground level.

(5) Strategic special nuclear material, other than alloys, fuel elements or fuel assemblies, shall:

(i) Be stored in a vault when not undergoing processing if the material can be used directly in the manufacture of a nuclear explosive device. Vaults used to protect such material shall be capable of preventing entry to stored SSNM by a single action in a forced entry attempt, except as such single action would both destroy the barrier and render contained SSNM incapable of being removed, and shall provide sufficient delay to prevent removal of stored SSNM prior to arrival of response personnel capable of neutralizing the design basis threat stated in § 73.1.

(ii) Be stored in tamper-indicating containers;

(iii) Be processed only in material access areas constructed with barriers that provide significant delay to penetration; and

(iv) Be kept in locked compartments or locked process equipment while undergoing processing except when personally attended.

(6) Enriched uranium scrap (enriched to 20% or greater) in the form of small pieces, cuttings, chips, solutions or in other forms which result from a manufacturing process, contained in 30 gallon or larger containers with a uranium-235 content of less than 0.25 grams per liter, may be stored within a locked and separately fenced area within a larger protected area provided that the storage area fence is no closer than 25 feet to the perimeter of the protected area. The storage area when unoccupied shall be protected by a guard or watchman who shall patrol at intervals not exceeding 4 hours, or by intrusion alarms.

(d) Access control subsystems and procedures. (1) A numbered picture badge identification subsystem shall be used for all individuals who are authorized access to protected areas without escort. An individual not employed by the licensee but who requires frequent and extended access to protected, material access, or vital areas may be authorized access to such areas without escort provided that he receives a picture badge upon entrance into the protected area and returns the badge upon exit from the protected area, and that the badge indicates, (i) Non-employee—no escort required; (ii) areas to which access is authorized and (iii) the period for which access has been authorized. Badges shall be displayed by all individuals while inside the protected areas.

(2) Unescorted access to vital areas, material access areas and controlled access areas shall be limited to individuals who are authorized access to the material and equipment in such areas, and who require such access to perform their duties. Access to material access areas shall include at least two individuals. Authorization for such individuals shall be indicated by the issuance of specially coded numbered badges indicating vital areas, material access areas, and controlled access areas to which access is authorized. No activities other than those which require access to strategic special nuclear material or to equipment used in the processing, use, or storage of strategic special nuclear material, or necessary maintenance, shall be permitted within a material access area.

(3) The licensee shall establish and follow written procedures that will permit access control personnel to identify those vehicles that are authorized and those materials that are not authorized entry to protected, material access, and vital areas. The licensee shall retain a copy of the current procedures as a record until the Commission terminates each license for which the procedures were developed and, if any portion of the procedures is superseded, retain the superseded material for three years after each change.

(4)(i) The licensee shall control all points of personnel and vehicle access into a protected area. Identification and search of all individuals for firearms, explosives, and incendiary devices must be made and authorization must be checked at these points except for Federal, State, and local law enforcement personnel on official duty and United States Department of Energy couriers engaged in the transport of special nuclear material. The search function for detection of firearms, explosives, and incendiary devices must be accomplished through the use of detection equipment capable of detecting both firearms and explosives. The individual responsible for the last access control function (controlling admission to the protected area) shall be isolated within a structure with bullet resisting walls, doors, ceiling, floor, and windows.

(ii) When the licensee has cause to suspect that an individual is attempting to introduce firearms, explosives, or incendiary devices into a protected area, the licensee shall conduct a physical pat-down search of that individual. Whenever firearms or explosives detection equipment at a portal is out of service or not operating satisfactorily, the licensee shall conduct a physical pat-down search of all persons who would otherwise have been subject to search using the equipment.

(5) At the point of personnel and vehicle access into a protected area, all hand-carried packages except those carried by individuals exempted from personal search under the provisions of paragraph (d)(4)(i) of this part must be searched for firearms, explosives, and incendiary devices.

(6) All packages and material for delivery into a protected area must be checked for proper identification and authorization and searched for firearms, explosives, and incendiary devices prior to admittance into the protected area, except those Commission-approved delivery and inspection activities specifically designated by the licensee to be carried out within material access, vital, or protected areas for reasons of safety, security, or operational necessity.

(7) All vehicles, except United States Department of Energy vehicles engaged in transporting special nuclear material and emergency vehicles under emergency conditions, shall be searched for firearms, explosives, and incendiary devices prior to entry into the protected area. Vehicle areas to be searched shall include the cab, engine compartment, undercarriage, and cargo area.

(8) All vehicles, except designated licensee vehicles, requiring entry into the protected area shall be escorted by a member of the security organization while within the protected area, and to the extent practicable shall be off-loaded in an area that is not adjacent to a vital area. Designated licensee vehicles shall be limited in their use to onsite plant functions and shall remain in the protected area except for operational, maintenance, security and emergency purposes. The licensee shall exercise positive control over all such designated vehicles to assure that they are used only by authorized persons and for authorized purposes.

(9) The licensee shall control all points of personnel and vehicle access to material access areas, vital areas, and controlled access areas. At least two armed guards trained in accordance with the provisions contained in paragraph (b)(7) of this section and appendix B of this part shall be posted at each material access area control point whenever in use. Identification and authorization of personnel and vehicles must be verified at the material access area control point. Prior to entry into a material access area, packages must be searched for firearms, explosives, and incendiary devices. All vehicles, materials and packages, including trash, wastes, tools, and equipment exiting from a material access area must be searched for concealed strategic special nuclear material by a team of at least two individuals who are not authorized access to that material access area. Each individual exiting a material access area shall undergo at least two separate searches for concealed strategic special nuclear material. For individuals exiting an area that contains only alloyed or encapsulated strategic special nuclear material, the second search may be conducted in a random manner.

(10) Before exiting from a material access area, containers of contaminated wastes must be drum scanned and tamper sealed by at least two individuals, working and recording their findings as a team, who do not have access to material processing and storage areas. The licensee shall retain the records of these findings for three years after the record is made.

(11) Strategic special nuclear material being prepared for shipment offsite, including product, samples and scrap, shall be packed and placed in sealed containers in the presence of at least two individuals working as a team who shall verify and certify the content of each shipping container through the witnessing of gross weight measurements and nondestructive assay, and through the inspection of tamper seal integrity and associated seal records.

(12) Areas used for preparing strategic special nuclear material for shipment and areas used for packaging and screening trash and wastes shall be controlled access areas and shall be separated from processing and storage areas.

(13) Individuals not permitted by the licensee to enter protected areas without escort must be escorted by a watchman or other individual designated by the licensee while in a protected area and must be badged to indicate that an escort is required. In addition, the individual shall be required to register his or her name, date, time, purpose of visit and employment affiliation, citizenship, and name of the individual to be visited in a log. The licensee shall retain each log as a record for three years after the last entry is made in the log.

(14) All keys, locks, combinations and related equipment used to control access to protected, material access, vital, and controlled access areas shall be controlled to reduce the probability of compromise. Whenever there is evidence that a key, lock, combination, or related equipment may have been compromised it shall be changed. Upon termination of employment of any employee, keys, locks, combinations, and related equipment to which that employee had access, shall be changed.

(15) The licensee may not announce or otherwise communicate to its employees or site contractors the arrival or presence of an NRC safeguards inspector unless specifically requested to do so by the NRC safeguards inspector.

(e) Detection, surveillance and alarm subsystems and procedures. (1) The licensee shall provide an intrusion alarm subsystem with a capability to detect penetration through the isolation zone and to permit response action.

(2) All emergency exits in each protected, material access, and vital area shall be locked to prevent entry from the outside and alarmed to provide local visible and audible alarm annunciation.

(3) All unoccupied vital areas and material access areas shall be locked and protected by an intrusion alarm subsystem which will alarm upon the entry of a person anywhere into the area, upon exit from the area, and upon movement of an individual within the area, except that for process material access areas only the location of the strategic special nuclear material within the area is required to be so alarmed. Vaults and process areas that contain strategic special nuclear material that has not been alloyed or encapsulated shall also be under the surveillance of closed circuit television that is monitored in both alarm stations. Additionally, means shall be employed which require that an individual other than an alarm station operator be present at or have knowledge of access to such unoccupied vaults or process areas.

(4) All manned access control points in the protected area barrier, all security patrols and guard stations within the protected area, and both alarm stations shall be provided with duress alarms.

(5) All alarms required pursuant to this section shall annunciate in a continuously manned central alarm station located within the protected area and in at least one other independent continuously manned onsite station not necessarily within the protected area, so that a single act cannot remove the capability of calling for assistance or responding to an alarm. The alarm stations shall be controlled access areas and their walls, doors, ceiling, floor, and windows shall be bullet-resisting. The central alarm station shall be located within a building so that the interior of the central alarm station is not visible from the perimeter of the protected area. This station may not contain any operational activities that would interfere with the execution of the alarm response function.

(6) All alarms required by this section shall remain operable from independent power sources in the event of the loss of normal power. Switchover to standby power shall be automatic and shall not cause false alarms on annunciator modules.

(7) All alarm devices including transmission lines to annunciators shall be tamper indicating and self-checking e.g., an automatic indication shall be provided when a failure of the alarm system or a component occurs, when there is an attempt to compromise the system, or when the system is on standby power. The annunciation of an alarm at the alarm stations shall indicate the type of alarm (e.g., intrusion alarm, emergency exit alarm, etc.) and location. The status of all alarms and alarm zones shall be indicated in the alarm stations.

(8) All exterior areas within the protected area shall be monitored or periodically checked to detect the presence of unauthorized persons, vehicles, materials, or unauthorized activities.

(9) Methods to observe individuals within material access areas to assure that strategic special nuclear material is not moved to unauthorized locations or in an unauthorized manner shall be provided and used on a continuing basis.

(f) Communication subsystems. (1) Each guard, watchman, or armed response individual on duty shall be capable of maintaining continuous communication with an individual in each continuously manned alarm station required by paragraph (e)(5) of this section, who shall be capable of calling for assistance from other guards, watchmen, and armed response personnel and from law enforcement authorities.

(2) Each alarm station required by paragraph (e)(5) of this section shall have both conventional telephone service and radio or microwave transmitted two-way voice communication, either directly or through an intermediary, for the capability of communication with the law enforcement authorities.

(3) Non-portable communications equipment controlled by the licensee and required by this section shall remain operable from independent power sources in the event of the loss of normal power.

(g) Test and maintenance programs. The licensee shall have a test and maintenance program for intrusion alarms, emergency exit alarms, communications equipment, physical barriers, and other physical protection related devices and equipment used pursuant to this section that shall provide for the following:

(1) Tests and inspections during the installation and construction of physical protection related subsystems and components to assure that they comply with their respective design criteria and performance specifications.

(2) Preoperational tests and inspections of physical protection related subsystems and components to demonstrate their effectiveness and availability with respect to their respective design criteria and performance specifications.

(3) Operational tests and inspections of physical protection related subsystems and components to assure their maintenance in an operable and effective condition, including:

(i) Testing of each intrusion alarm at the beginning and end of any period that it is used. If the period of continuous use is longer than seven days, the intrusion alarm shall also be tested at least once every seven days.

(ii) Testing of communications equipment required for communications onsite, including duress alarms, for performance not less frequently than once at the beginning of each security personnel work shift. Communications equipment required for communications offsite shall be tested for performance not less than once a day.

(4) Preventive maintenance programs shall be established for physical protection related subsystems and components to assure their continued maintenance in an operable and effective condition.

(5) All physical protection related subsystems and components shall be maintained in operable condition. The licensee shall develop and employ corrective action procedures and compensatory measures to assure that the effectiveness of the physical protection system is not reduced by failure or other contingencies affecting the operation of the security related equipment or structures. Repairs and maintenance shall be performed by at least two individuals working as a team who have been trained in the operation and performance of the equipment. The security organization shall be notified before and after service is performed and shall conduct performance verification tests after the service has been completed.

(6) The security program must be reviewed at least every 12 months by individuals independent of both security program management and personnel who have direct responsibility for implementation of the security program. The security program review must include an audit of security procedures and practices, an evaluation of the effectiveness of the physical protection system, an audit of the physical protection system testing and maintenance program, and an audit of commitments established for response by local law enforcement authorities. The results and recommendations of the security program review, and any actions taken, must be documented in a report to the licensee’s plant manager and to corporate management at least one level higher than that having responsibility for the day-to-day plant operations. These reports must be maintained in an auditable form, available for inspection for a period of 3 years.

(h) Contingency and response plans and procedures. (1) The licensee shall establish, maintain, and follow an NRC-approved safeguards contingency plan for responding to threats, thefts, and radiological sabotage related to the strategic special nuclear material and nuclear facilities subject to the provisions of this section. Safeguards contingency plans must be in accordance with the criteria in appendix C to this part, “Licensee Safeguards Contingency Plans.” Contingency plans must include, but not limited to, the response requirements listed in paragraphs (h)(2) through (h)(5) of this section. The licensee shall retain the current safeguards contingency plan as a record until the Commission terminates the license and, if any portion of the plan is superseded, retain that superseded portion for 3 years after the effective date of change.

(2) The licensee shall establish and document response arrangements that have been made with local law enforcement authorities. The licensee shall retain documentation of the current arrangements as a record until the Commission terminates each license requiring the arrangements and, if any arrangement is superseded, retain the superseded material for three years after each change.

(3) A Tactical Response Team consisting of a minimum of five (5) members must be available at the facility to fulfill assessment and response requirements. In addition, a force of guards or armed response personnel also must be available to provide assistance as necessary. The size and availability of the additional force must be determined on the basis of site-specific considerations that could affect the ability of the total onsite response force to engage and impede the adversary force until offsite assistance arrives. The rationale for the total number and availabiliy of onsite armed response personnel must be included in the physical protection plans submitted to the Commission for approval.

(4) Upon detection of abnormal presence or activity of persons or vehicles within an isolation zone, a protected area, a material access area, or a vital area, or upon evidence or indication of intrusion into a protected area, a material access area, or a vital area, the licensee security organization shall:

(i) Determine whether or not a threat exists,

(ii) Assess the extent of the threat, if any,

(iii) Take immediate concurrent measures to neutralize the threat by:

(A) Requiring responding guards or other armed response personnel to interpose themselves between vital areas and material access areas and any adversary attempting entry for purposes of radiological sabotage or theft of strategic special nuclear material and to intercept any person exiting with special nuclear material, and

(B) Informing local law enforcement agencies of the threat and requesting assistance.

(5) The licensee shall instruct every guard and all armed response personnel to prevent or impede acts of radiological sabotage or theft of strategic special nuclear material by using force sufficient to counter the force directed at him including the use of deadly force when the guard or other armed response person has a reasonable belief that it is necessary in self-defense or in the defense of others.

(6) To facilitate initial response to detection of penetration of the protected area and assessment of the existence of a threat, a capability of observing the isolation zones and the physical barrier at the perimeter of the protected area shall be provided, preferably by means of closed circuit television or by other suitable means which limit exposure of responding personnel to possible attack.

(7) Alarms occurring within unoccupied vaults and unoccupied material access areas containing unalloyed or unencapsulated strategic special nuclear material shall be assessed by at least two security personnel using closed circuit television (CCTV) or other remote means.

(8) Alarms occurring within unoccupied material access areas that contain only alloyed or encapsulated strategic special nuclear material shall be assessed as in paragraph (h)(7) of this section or by at least two security personnel who shall undergo a search before exiting the material access area.

(i) Implementation schedule for revisions to physical protection plans. (1) By November 28, 1994, each licensee shall submit a revised Fixed Site Physical Protection Plan to the NRC for approval. The revised plan must describe how the licensee will comply with the requirements of paragraphs (b)(10) and (b)(11) of this section or the requirements of (b)(12) of this section. Revised plans must be mailed to the Director, Division of Fuel Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555.

(2) Each licensee shall implement the approved plan pursuant to paragraphs (b)(10) and (b)(11) of this section or (b)(12) of this section within 1 year after NRC approval of the revised Fixed Site Physical Protection Plan.

[44 FR 68194, Nov. 28, 1979, as amended at 53 FR 19258, May 27, 1988; 53 FR 23383, June 22, 1988; 53 FR 45452, Nov. 10, 1988; 57 FR 33430, July 29, 1992; 58 FR 29522, May 21, 1993; 58 FR 45784, Aug. 31, 1993; 59 FR 38348, July 28, 1994; 79 FR 75741, Dec. 19, 2014; 84 FR 65646, Nov. 29, 2019]