nuclear-news

UK govt worried about nuclear security – wants to train security officers for overseas reactors

Contract offer to counteract global threat to nuclear sites, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2018/05/20/contract-offer-counteract-global-threat-nuclear-sites/ Rhiannon Curry , 20 MAY 2018 
The Government is so concerned about the global threat to nuclear power stations that it is seeking a company to provide security training to foreign operators.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has published a £6m tender for a private company to deliver what it calls a National Security Culture Programme. It is part of a wider push to make sure that chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear materials are out of reach to terrorist groups or hostile states.

The successful company will be sent to overseas nuclear facilities to deliver training on attack prevention by helping organisations to increase security and better protect sensitive information. According to the tender documents, found by procurement company Tussell, the job will be aimed at overseas civil nuclear sites.

It will also cover a range of organisations, including those holding radioactive material, such as hospitals, and sensitive knowledge or information, such as academic or scientific institutions, as well as regulators and government departments.

The contract is expected to start in July 2018 and will run until March 2022. This work is the first external tender relating to the Government’s global threat reduction programme, hinting at the level of concern among top officials about the possibility of an attack on nuclear power plants.

Nuclear facilities have long been considered a target for groups looking to disrupt power supplies.

Last year, Britain’s nuclear power stations were told to tighten their defences against terrorist attacks after concerns were raised that terrorists had worked out how to bypass electronic security systems.

A spokesman for BEIS said the tender was part of “a continuing education programme about encouraging greater awareness of nuclear security issues and best practice overseas”.

May 22, 2018 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, UK