§73.26. Transportation physical protection systems, subsystems, components, and procedures.

Shipments shall be scheduled to avoid regular patterns and preplanned to avoid areas of natural disaster or civil disorders, such as strikes or riots. Such shipments shall be planned in order to avoid storage times in excess of 24 hours and to assure that deliveries occur at a time when the receiver at the final delivery point is present to accept the shipment.

Arrangements shall be made with law enforcement authorities along the route of shipments for their response to an emergency or a call for assistance.

Security arrangements for each shipment shall be approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission prior to the time for the seven-day notice required by § 73.72. Information to be supplied to the Commission in addition to the general security plan information is as follows:

Hand-to-hand receipts shall be completed at origin and destination and at all points enroute where there is a transfer of custody.

A licensee who imports a formula quantity of strategic special nuclear material shall make arrangements to assure that the material will be protected in transit as follows:

A licensee who exports a formula quantity of strategic special nuclear material shall comply with the requirements of this section and §§ 73.25 and 73.27, as applicable, up to the first point where the shipment is taken off the transport outside the United States. The licensee shall retain each record required by these sections for three years after the close of period for which the licensee possesses the special nuclear material under each license authorizing the licensee to export this material, and superseded material for three years after each change.

The licensee or his agent shall establish a transportation security organization, including armed escorts, armed response personnel or guards, and a movement control center manned and equipped to monitor and control shipments, to communicate with local law enforcement authorities, and to respond to safeguards contingencies.

At least one full time member of the security organization who has the authority to direct the physical protection activities of the security organization shall be on duty at the movement control center during the course of any shipment.

The licensee or the licensee's agent shall establish, maintain, and follow a written management system to provide for the development, revision, implementation, and enforcement of transportation physical protection procedures. The licensee or the agent shall retain as a record the current management system for three years after the close of period for which the licensee possesses the special nuclear material under the license for which the system was developed and, if any portion of the system is superseded, retain the superseded material for three years after each change. The system shall include:

Neither the licensee nor the licensee's agent shall permit an individual to act as an escort or other security organization member unless the individual has been trained, equipped, and qualified to perform each assigned security job duty in accordance with appendix B, of this part, “General Criteria for Security Personnel.” Upon the request of an authorized representative of the Commission, the licensee or the agent shall demonstrate the ability of the physical security personnel to carry out their assigned duties and responsibilities. Armed escorts shall requalify in accordance with appendix B to this part at least every 12 months. Each requalification must be documented. The licensee or the agent shall retain documentation of the initial qualification for the term of employment and of each requalification as a record for three years from the date of the requalification.

Armed escort and armed response force personnel armament shall include handguns, shotguns, and semiautomatic rifles, as described in appendix B to this part.

The licensee or the licensee's agent shall establish, maintain, and follow a written safeguards contingency plan for dealing with threats, thefts, and radiological sabotage related to strategic special nuclear material in transit subject to the provisions of this section. This safeguards contingency plan must be in accordance with the criteria in appendix C of this part, “Licensee Safeguards Contingency Plan.” The licensee or the agent shall retain the contingency plan as a record for three years after the close of period for which the licensee possesses the special nuclear material under each license for which the plan is used and superseded material for three years after each change.

Upon detection of abnormal presence or activity of persons or vehicles attempting to penetrate a moving convoy or persons attempting to gain access to a parked cargo vehicle or upon evidence or indication of penetration of the cargo vehicle the armed escorts or other armed response personnel shall:

The licensee or his agent shall instruct every armed escort and all armed response personnel to prevent or impede acts of radiological sabotage or theft of strategic special material by using sufficient force to counter the force directed at him including the use of deadly force when armed escorts or armed response personnel have a reasonable belief that it is necessary in self-defense or in the defense of others.

Strategic special nuclear material shall be placed in a protected area at transfer points if transfer is not immediate from one transport to another. Where a protected area is not available a controlled access area shall be established for the shipment. The transport may serve as a controlled access area.

All transfers shall be protected by at least seven armed escorts or other armed personnel—one of whom shall serve as commander. At least five of the armed personnel (including the commander) shall be available to protect the shipment and at least three of the five shall keep the strategic special nuclear material under continuous surveillance while it is at the transfer point. The two remaining armed personnel shall take up positions at a remote monitoring location. The remote location may be a radio-equipped vehicle or a nearby place, apart from the shipment area, so that a single act cannot remove the capability of the personnel protecting the shipment for calling for assistance. Each of the seven armed escorts or other armed personnel shall be capable of maintaining communication with each other. The commander shall have the capability to communicate with the personnel at the remote location and with local law enforcement agencies for emergency assistance. In addition, the armed escort personnel at the remote location shall have the capability to communicate with the law enforcement agencies and with the shipment movement control center. The commander shall call the remote location at least every 30 minutes to report the status of the shipment. If the calls are not received within the prescribed time, the personnel in the remote location shall request assistance from the law enforcement authorities, notify the shipment movement control center and initiate the appropriate contingency plans. Armed escorts or other armed personnel shall observe the opening of the cargo compartment of the incoming transport and ensure that the shipment is complete by checking locks and seals. A shipment loaded onto or transferred to another transport shall be checked to assure complete loading or transfer. Continuous visual surveillance of the cargo compartment shall be maintained up to the time the transport departs from the terminal. The escorts shall observe the transport until it has departed and shall notify the licensee or his agent of the latest status immediately thereafter.

A numbered picture badge identification procedure shall be used to identify all individuals who will have custody of a shipment. The identification procedure shall require that the individual who has possession of the strategic special nuclear material shall have, in advance, identification picture badges of all individuals who are to assume custody for the shipment. The shipment shall be released only when the individual who has possession of strategic special nuclear material has assured positive identification of all of the persons assuming custody for the shipment by comparing the copies of the identification badges that have been received in advance to the identification badges carried by the individuals who will assume custody of the shipment.

Access to protected areas, controlled access areas, transports, escort vehicles, aircraft, rail cars, and containers where strategic special nuclear material is located shall be limited to individuals who have been properly identified and have been authorized access to these areas.

Strategic special nuclear material shall be shipped in containers that are protected by tamper-indicating seals. The containers also shall be locked if they are not in another locked container or transport. The outermost container or transport also shall be protected by tamper-indicating seals.

All shipments on commercial cargo aircraft shall be accompanied by two armed escorts who shall be able to converse in a common language with the captain of the aircraft.

Transfers of these shipments shall be minimized and shall be conducted in accordance with paragraph (f) of this section. Such shipments shall be scheduled so that the strategic special nuclear material is loaded last and unloaded first.

At scheduled stops, at least seven armed escorts or other armed personnel shall be available to protect the shipment and at least three armed escorts or other armed personnel shall maintain continuous visual surveillance of the cargo compartment.

Export shipments shall be accompanied by two armed escorts from the last terminal in the United States until the shipment is unloaded at a foreign terminal and primary responsibility for physical protection is assumed by agents of the consignee. While on foreign soil, the escorts may surrender their weapons to legally constituted local authorities. After leaving the last terminal in the United States the shipment shall be scheduled with no intermediate stops.

Import shipments shall be accompanied by two armed escorts at all times within the geographical limits of the United States. These escorts shall provide physical protection for the shipment until relieved by verified agents of the U.S. consignee.

Procedures shall be established to assure that no unauthorized persons or material are on the aircraft before strategic special nuclear material is loaded on board.

Arrangements shall be made at all domestic airports to assure that the seven required armed escorts or other armed personnel are available and that the required security measures will be taken upon landing.

Arrangements shall be made at the foreign terminal at which the shipment is to be unloaded to assure that security measures will be taken on arrival.

A shipment by rail shall be escorted by seven armed escorts in the shipment car or an escort car next to the shipment car of the train. At least three escorts shall keep the shipment car under continuous visual surveillance. Escorts shall detrain at stops when practicable and time permits to maintain the shipment cars under continuous visual surveillance and to check car or container locks and seals.

Procedures shall be established to assure that no unauthorized persons or materials are on the shipment or escort car before strategic special nuclear material is loaded on board.

Only containers weighing 5,000 lbs or more shall be shipped on open rail cars.

A voice communication capability between the escorts and the movement control center shall be maintained. A redundant means of continuous communication also shall be available. Calls to the movement control center shall be made at least every half hour to convey the status and position of the shipment. In the event no call is received in accordance with these requirements, the licensee or his agent shall immediately notify the law enforcement authorities and the appropriate Nuclear Regulatory Commission Regional Office listed in appendix A of this part and initiate their contingency plan.

Transfer to and from other modes of transportation shall be in accordance with paragraph (f) of this section.

Shipments shall be made only on container-ships. The strategic special nuclear material container(s) shall be loaded into exclusive use cargo containers conforming to American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Standard MH5.1—“Basic Requirements for Cargo Containers” (1971) or International Standards Organization (ISO) 1496, “General Cargo Containers” (1978). Locks and seals shall be inspected by the escorts whenever access is possible. The ANSI Standard MH5.1 (1971) and the (ISO) 1496 (1978), have been approved for incorporation by reference by the Director of the Federal Register. A copy of each of these standards is available for inspection at the NRC Library, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852-2738.

All shipments shall be accompanied by two armed escorts who shall be able to converse in a common language with the captain of the ship.

Minimum domestic ports of call shall be scheduled and there shall be no scheduled transfer to other vessels after the shipment leaves the last port in the United States. Transfer to and from other modes of transportation shall be in accordance with paragraph (f) of this section.

At all ports of call the escorts shall ensure that the shipment is not removed. At least two armed escorts or other armed personnel shall maintain continuous visual surveillance of the cargo area where the container is stored up to the time the ship departs.

Export shipments shall be accompanied by two armed escorts from the last port in the United States until the shipment is unloaded at a foreign terminal and prime responsibility for physical protection is assumed by agents of the consignee. While on foreign soil, the escorts may surrender their weapons to legally constituted local authorities.

Import shipments shall be accompanied by two armed escorts at all times within the geographical limits of the United States. These escorts shall provide physical protection for the shipment until relieved by verified agents of the U.S. consignee.

Ship-to-shore communications shall be available, and a ship-to-shore contact shall be made every six hours to relay position information, and the status of the shipment.

Arrangements shall be made at the foreign terminals at which the shipment is to be unloaded to assure that security measures will be taken upon arrival.