Physical Protection Systems

Description: This section presents a number of terms related to the physical protection of nuclear materials and facilities. The definitions and information found in this chapter are largely taken from the following sources:

1. IAEA Safeguards Glossary: 2001 Edition (PDF)
2. Garcia, Mary Lynn. The Design and Evaluation of Physical Protection Systems. Amsterdam: Elsevier/Butterworth-Heinemann, 2008.
3. IAEA, The Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and Nuclear Facilities (INFCIRC/225/Rev.4).
4. Radiation Emergency Medical Management (REMM), US Department of Health and Human Services, Dictionary of Radiation Terms.

Terms Included in this Chapter

1. Acceptance testing
2. Access control
3. Activated Delay
4. Activated denial
5. Adversary
6. Adversary Action Sequence
7. Adversary class
8. Adversary neutralization
9. Adversary path
10. Adversary Sequence Diagram
11. Adversary sequence modeling
12. Adversary task
13. Alarm assessment
14. Alarm Communication and Display (AC&D)
15. Alternate access points
16. Assessment
17. Automated access control system
18. Central Alarm Station
19. Contraband
20. DDDRR of Security Risk
21. Deceit
22. Defeat
23. Defense in Depth
24. Delay
25. Denial
26. Deployment
27. Design and Evalution Process Outline (DEPO)
28. Design Basis Threat (DBT)
29. Detection
30. Deterrence
31. Diversion
32. Entry control
33. Event
34. Facility Characterization
35. False Alarm
36. Force
37. Guards
38. IAEA Categorization of Nuclear Material
39. Impostor pass rate
40. Improvised nuclear device (IND)
41. Inner Area
42. Insider
43. Intrusion Detection
44. Isolation zone
45. Local Communications
46. Material Access Area
47. Nations that Are Parties to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material
48. Nuclear terrorism
49. Nuisance Alarm
50. Nuisance Alarm Rate (NAR)
51. Outsider
52. Path
53. Patrol
54. Performance Criteria Approach
55. Physical Barrier
56. Physical Protection Systems
57. Physical Security
58. Probability of detection
59. Probability of interruption
60. Probability of Neutralization
61. Probability of sensing
62. Protected Area
63. Radiological dispersion device (RDD)
64. Radiological exposure device (RED)
65. Requirements for Physical Protection Against Unauthorized Removal of Nuclear Material in Use and Storage
66. Response force time
67. Response Forces
68. Risk Assessment
69. Sabotage
70. Scenario
71. Security Survey
72. Single Path Analysis
73. Stealth
74. Target Identification
75. Theft
76. Threat
77. Threat Assessment
78. Timely Detection
79. Transport
80. Transport Control Center
81. Unauthorized Removal
82. Upgrade
83. Vehicle-born improvised explosive device
84. Vital Area
85. Vulnerability
86. Zone