The purpose of our Safeguards and Security
program is to physically protect our
personnel, facilities, equipment, materials,
and information.
Yucca Mountain is located at the
edge of the Nevada Test Site, where
the air space is restricted and where
a highly trained security force is
in place. Larger than the state of
Rhode Island, the Nevada Test Site
is one of the largest restricted access
areas in the United States.
Personal identification systems control
access to all Yucca Mountain Project
facilities. At the potential repository
site, security personnel control access
to the site and inspect for explosives,
weapons, hazardous substances, and
other prohibited articles.
In addition, our safeguards and security
program employs different countermeasures
to stop foreign intelligence agents,
criminals, terrorists, or other adversaries
from obtaining unclassified sensitive
or critical information about our
programs and activities.
Currently, at the Yucca Mountain
Project we do not have any highly
radioactive materials in our possession.
However, if we receive a license
from the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission to build and operate
a repository, we could begin receiving
radioactive waste as early as 2017.
As a condition of licensing, we must
demonstrate to the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission how our safeguards and
security system will protect the physical
inventory of radioactive materials
at the repository. This will involve
detecting unauthorized intruders into
the repository and other precautions
against sabotage and theft. The safeguards
and security system will include physical
barriers, access controls, continuous
surveillance, and alarm and response
systems.
Located 1,000 feet below Yucca Mountain,
the repository itself will also safeguard
radioactive materials from theft and
acts of terrorism or sabotage. Once
the waste is placed in the repository,
it is highly unlikely that any attack
could affect it deep below the desert
surface.
Last reviewed: 04/08
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