The UK is party to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, which came into force in 1987. The Convention is the only internationally binding regime that deals with the physical protection of civil nuclear material – nuclear material used for peaceful, non-military purposes.
Broadly speaking, the Convention obliges its signatories to meet defined standards of physical protection for international transport of nuclear material, and to help recover and protect stolen nuclear material. It also promotes international co-operation in the exchange of relevant information. However, states are still ultimately responsible for establishing and operating a comprehensive physical protection system for nuclear facilities and nuclear material.
In 2005, a diplomatic conference (held in Vienna) agreed to amend the Convention – extending its scope so that it also deals with the physical protection of civil nuclear facilities and civil nuclear material in domestic use, storage and transport. The amended Convention requires each state to establish, implement and maintain an appropriate physical protection regime for civil nuclear material and civil nuclear facilities under its jurisdiction, with the aim of protecting against theft, recovering missing or stolen material, protecting material and facilities against sabotage, and mitigating or minimising the radiological consequences of sabotage. It also provides for cooperation between states in the event of nuclear sabotage, and incorporates a longer list of nuclear offences.
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) document The physical protection of nuclear material and nuclear facilities provides a useful basis for helping states design, implement and regulate a system of physical protection for their sites. The UK follows this guidance closely in its own domestic regime. The Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS), which is part of the Health and Safety Executive, functions as the UK’s competent security authority, as recommended by the IAEA.
For many years, the UK has helped the IAEA improve standards of nuclear security worldwide, by providing experts from OCNS to contribute to the drafting and revision of its guidance documents. The UK, through OCNS, has also provided bilateral assistance to some countries, to upgrade the physical protection systems at some of their more sensitive facilities. As part of its commitment to the G8 Global Partnership Initiative against the spread of weapons and materials of mass destruction, the UK is continuing to develop its strategy for improving nuclear security in Russia and former Soviet Union states.