[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 10, Volume 2]

[Revised as of January 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 10CFR73.2]



[Page 398-401]

 

                            TITLE 10--ENERGY

 

          CHAPTER I--NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED)

 

PART 73_PHYSICAL PROTECTION OF PLANTS AND MATERIALS--Table of Contents

 

Sec. 73.2  Definitions.



    As used in this part:

    (a) Terms defined in parts 50 and 70 of this chapter have the same 

meaning when used in this part.

    Appropriate Nuclear Regulatory Commission Regional Office listed in 

appendix A means:

    (1) For domestic shipments--the Regional Office within whose region 

the licensee who is responsible for the physical protection arrangements 

of the shipment is located.

    (2) For export shipments--the Regional Office within whose region 

the licensee who is responsible for the physical protection arrangements 

of the shipment is located, and the Regional Office for the region in 

which the last point of exit of the shipment from the U.S. is located.

    (3) For import shipments--the Regional Office within whose region 

the licensee who is responsible for the physical protection arrangements 

of the shipment is located, and the Regional Office for the region in 

which the first point of entry of the shipment into the U.S. is located.

    Armed escort means an armed person, not necessarily uniformed, whose 

primary duty is to accompany shipments of special nuclear material for 

the protection of such shipments against theft or radiological sabotage.

    Armed response personnel means persons, not necessarily uniformed, 

whose primary duty in the event of attempted theft of special nuclear 

material or radiological sabotage shall be to respond, armed and 

equipped, to prevent or delay such actions.

    Authorized individual means any individual, including an employee, a 

student, a consultant, or an agent of a licensee who has been designated 

in writing by a licensee to have responsibility for surveillance of or 

control over special nuclear material or to have unescorted access to 

areas where special nuclear material is used or stored.

    Bullet/resisting means protection against complete penetration, 

passage of fragments of projectiles, and spalling (fragmentation) of the 

protective material that could cause injury to a person standing 

directly behind the bullet-resisting barrier.

    Contiguous sites means licensee controlled locations, deemed by the 

Commission to be in close enough proximity to each other, that the 

special nuclear material must be considered in the aggregate for the 

purpose of physical protection.

    Continuous visual surveillance means unobstructed view at all times 

of a shipment of special nuclear material, and of all access to a 

temporary storage area or cargo compartment containing the shipment.

    Controlled access area means any temporarily or permanently 

established area which is clearly demarcated, access to which is 

controlled and which affords isolation of the material or persons within 

it.

    Deceit means methods used to attempt to gain unauthorized access, 

introduce unauthorized materials, or remove strategic special nuclear 

materials, where the attempt involves falsification to present the 

appearance of authorized access.

    DOE and Department of Energy means the Department of Energy 

established by the Department of Energy Organization Act (Pub. L. 95-91, 

91 Stat. 565, 42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.), to the extent that the 

Department, or its duly authorized representatives, exercises functions 

formerly vested in the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, its Chairman, 

members, officers and components and transfered to the U.S. Energy 

Research and Development Administration and to the Administrator thereof 

pursuant to sections 104(b), (c) and (d) of the Energy Reorganization 

Act of 1974 (Pub. L. 93-438, 88 Stat. 1233 at 1237, 42 U.S.C. 5814) and 

retransferred to the Secretary of Energy pursuant to section 301(a) of



[[Page 399]]



the Department of Energy Organization Act (Pub. L. 95-91, 91 Stat. 565 

at 577-578, 42 U.S.C. 7151).

    Force means violent methods used by an adversary to attempt to steal 

strategic special nuclear material or to sabotage a nuclear facility or 

violent methods used by response personnel to protect against such 

adversary actions.

    Formula quantity means strategic special nuclear material in any 

combination in a quantity of 5,000 grams or more computed by the 

formula, grams = (grams contained U-235) + 2.5 (grams U-233 + grams 

plutonium). This class of material is sometimes referred to as a 

Category I quantity of material.

    Guard means a uniformed individual armed with a firearm whose 

primary duty is the protection of special nuclear material against 

theft, the protection of a plant against radiological sabotage, or both.

    Incendiary device means any self-contained device intended to create 

an intense fire that can damage normally flame-resistant or retardant 

materials.

    Intrusion alarm means a tamper indicating electrical, 

electromechanical, electrooptical, electronic or similar device which 

will detect intrusion by an individual into a building, protected area, 

vital area, or material access area, and alert guards or watchmen by 

means of actuated visible and audible signals.

    Isolation zone means any area adjacent to a physical barrier, clear 

of all objects which could conceal or shield an individual.

    Lock in the case of vaults or vault type rooms means a three-

position, manipulation resistant, dial type, built-in combination lock 

or combination padlock and in the case of fences, walls, and buildings 

means an integral door lock or padlock which provides protection 

equivalent to a six-tumbler cylinder lock. Lock in the case of a vault 

or vault type room also means any manipulation resistant, 

electromechanical device which provides the same function as a built-in 

combination lock or combination padlock, which can be operated remotely 

or by the reading or insertion of information, which can be uniquely 

characterized, and which allows operation of the device. Locked means 

protected by an operable lock.

    Material access area means any location which contains special 

nuclear material, within a vault or a building, the roof, walls, and 

floor of which each constitute a physical barrier.

    Movement control center means an operations center which is remote 

from transport activity and which maintains periodic position 

information on the movement of strategic special nuclear material, 

receives reports of attempted attacks or thefts, provides a means for 

reporting these and other problems to appropriate agencies and can 

request and coordinate appropriate aid.

    Need to know means a determination by a person having responsibility 

for protecting Safeguards Information that a proposed recipient's access 

to Safeguards Information is necessary in the performance of official, 

contractual, or licensee duties of employment.

    Person means (1) any individual, corporation, partnership, firm, 

association, trust, estate, public or private institution, group, 

government agency other than the Commission or the Department of Energy 

(DOE), (except that the DOE shall be considered a person to the extent 

that its facilities are subject to the licensing and related regulatory 

authority of the Commission pursuant to section 202 of the Energy 

Reorganization Act of 1974 and sections 104, 105, and 202 of the Uranium 

Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978), any state or political 

subdivision of a state, or any political subdivision of any government 

or nation, or other entity; and (2) any legal successor, representative, 

agent, or agency of the foregoing.

    Physical barrier means:

    (1) Fences constructed of No. 11 American wire gauge, or heavier 

wire fabric, topped by three strands or more of barbed wire or similar 

material on brackets angled inward or outward between 30[deg] and 

45[deg] from the vertical, with an overall height of not less than eight 

feet, including the barbed topping;

    (2) Building walls, ceilings and floors constructed of stone, brick, 

cinder block, concrete, steel or comparable materials (openings in which 

are secured by grates, doors, or covers of



[[Page 400]]



construction and fastening of sufficient strength such that the 

integrity of the wall is not lessened by any opening), or walls of 

similar construction, not part of a building, provided with a barbed 

topping described in paragraph (1) of this definition of a height of not 

less than 8 feet; or

    (3) Any other physical obstruction constructed in a manner and of 

materials suitable for the purpose for which the obstruction is 

intended.

    Protected area means an area encompassed by physical barriers and to 

which access is controlled.

    Radiological sabotage means any deliberate act directed against a 

plant or transport in which an activity licensed pursuant to the 

regulations in this chapter is conducted, or against a component of such 

a plant or transport which could directly or indirectly endanger the 

public health and safety by exposure to radiation.

    Safeguards Information means information not otherwise classified as 

National Security Information or Restricted Data which specifically 

identifies a licensee's or applicant's detailed, (1) security measures 

for the physical protection of special nuclear material, or (2) security 

measures for the physical protection and location of certain plant 

equipment vital to the safety of production or utilization facilities.

    Security management means persons responsible for security at the 

policy and general management level.

    Security Storage Container includes any of the following 

repositories: (1) For storage in a building located within a protected 

or controlled access area, a steel filing cabinet equipped with a steel 

locking bar and a three position, changeable combination, GSA approved 

padlock; (2) A security filing cabinet that bears a Test Certification 

Label on the side of the locking drawer, or interior plate, and is 

marked, General Services Administration Approved Security Container on 

the exterior of the top drawer or door; (3) A bank safe-deposit box; and 

(4) Other repositories which in the judgement of the NRC, would provide 

comparable physical protection.

    Security supervision means persons, not necessarily uniformed or 

armed, whose primary duties are supervision and direction of security at 

the day-to-day operating level.

    Special nuclear material of low strategic significance means:

    (1) Less than an amount of special nuclear material of moderate 

strategic significance as defined in paragraph (1) of the definition of 

strategic nuclear material of moderate strategic significance in this 

section, but more than 15 grams of uranium-235 (contained in uranium 

enriched to 20 percent or more in U-235 isotope) or 15 grams of uranium-

233 or 15 grams of plutonium or the combination of 15 grams when 

computed by the equation, grams = (grams contained U-235) + (grams 

plutonium) + (grams U-233); or

    (2) Less than 10,000 grams but more than 1,000 grams of uranium-235 

(contained in uranium enriched to 10 percent or more but less than 20 

percent in the U-235 isotope); or

    (3) 10,000 grams or more of uranium-235 (contained in uranium 

enriched above natural but less than 10 percent in the U-235 isotope).



This class of material is sometimes referred to as a Category III 

quantity of material.

    Special nuclear material of moderate strategic significance means:

    (1) Less than a formula quantity of strategic special nuclear 

material but more than 1,000 grams of uranium-235 (contained in uranium 

enriched to 20 percent or more in the U-235 isotope) or more than 500 

grams of uranium-233 or plutonium, or in a combined quantity of more 

than 1,000 grams when computed by the equation, grams = (grams contained 

U-235) + 2 (grams U-233 + grams plutonium); or

    (2) 10,000 grams or more of uranium-235 (contained in uranium 

enriched to 10 percent or more but less than 20 percent in the U-235 

isotope).



This class of material is sometimes referred to as a Category II 

quantity of material.

    Stealth means methods used to attempt to gain unauthorized access, 

introduce unauthorized materials, or remove strategic special nuclear 

material, where the fact of such attempt is concealed or an attempt is 

made to conceal it.



[[Page 401]]



    Strategic special nuclear material means uranium-235 (contained in 

uranium enriched to 20 percent or more in the U-235 isotope), uranium-

233, or plutonium.

    Tactical Response Team means the primary response force for each 

shift which can be identified by a distinctive item of uniform, armed 

with specified weapons, and whose other duties permit immediate 

response.

    Transport means any land, sea, or air conveyance or modules for 

these conveyances such as rail cars or standardized cargo containers.

    Undergoing processing means performing active operations on material 

such as chemical transformation, physical transformation, or transit 

between such operations, to be differentiated from storage or packaging 

for shipment.

    Vault means a windowless enclosure with walls, floor, roof and 

door(s) designed and constructed to delay penetration from forced entry.

    Vault-type room means a room with one or more doors, all capable of 

being locked, protected by an intrusion alarm which creates an alarm 

upon the entry of a person anywhere into the room and upon exit from the 

room or upon movement of an individual within the room.

    Vital area means any area which contains vital equipment.

    Vital equipment means any equipment, system, device, or material, 

the failure, destruction, or release of which could directly or 

indirectly endanger the public health and safety by exposure to 

radiation. Equipment or systems which would be required to function to 

protect public health and safety following such failure, destruction, or 

release are also considered to be vital.

    Watchman means an individual, not necessarily uniformed or armed 

with a firearm, who provides protection for a plant and the special 

nuclear material therein in the course of performing other duties.



[38 FR 35430, Dec. 28, 1973, as amended at 39 FR 2352, Jan. 21, 1974; 40 

FR 52841, Nov. 13, 1975; 42 FR 10838, Feb. 24, 1977; 43 FR 37425, Aug. 

23, 1978; 44 FR 43282, July 24, 1979; 44 FR 68187, Nov. 28, 1979; 45 FR 

14201, Mar. 5, 1980; 46 FR 51724, Oct. 22, 1981; 53 FR 45451, Nov. 10, 

1988; 55 FR 51401, Dec. 14, 1990; 57 FR 33429, July 29, 1992]