. "2. Nuclear and Radiological Threats." Making the Nation Safer: The Role of Science and Technology in Countering Terrorism. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2002.
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Making the Nation Safer: The Role of Science and Technology in Countering Terrorism
Probability of Occurrence
Technical and Policy Challenges
Approaches to Mitigation
Potential for 9/11-type attacks is high in the near term
Stopping airplane attacks that deliver large amounts of energy directly on target
Perform vulnerability analysis of NPPs
Harden vulnerable NPPs and improve redundancies of critical safety systems
Unclear in the near term
Providing security against all types of attacks
Minimize the amount of fuel stored onsite
Potential for 9/11-type attacks is high over the next 5 years, but targets would be difficult to locate or severely damage
Stopping airplane attacks that deliver large amounts of energy directly on target
Perform vulnerability analysis of spent nuclear fuel storage sites
Move vulnerable spent fuel in wet storage to dry cask storage
High—materials and means are readily available, and there are few preventive measures in place
Training first responders to deal with these types of attacks
Improve first responder capabilities
Improve public education
High—materials and means are readily available, and there are few preventive measures in place
Training first responders to deal with these types of attacks
Improve first responder capabilities
Improve public education
nuclear utility companies has applied to the USNRC for a license to construct a centralized dry-cask storage facility (the Private Fuel Storage Facility) in Utah west of Salt Lake City. This facility, if licensed and constructed, could house up to 40,000 metric tons of spent fuel contained in up to 4,000 above-ground storage casks on thick reinforced-concrete pads (Private Fuel Storage, 2002).
The threat of terrorist attacks on spent fuel storage facilities, like reactors, is highly dependent on design characteristics. Moreover, spent fuel generates orders of magnitude less heat than an operating reactor, so that emergency cooling of the fuel in the case of attack could probably be accomplished using low-tech measures that could be implemented without significant exposure of workers to radiation. Dry cask storage systems are very robust and would probably stand up to aircraft attacks as well.
