FACULTY OF PETROLEUM AND RENEWABLE

ENERGY ENGINEERING
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA

NUCLEAR SAFETY, SECURITY AND SAFEGUARDS

ASSIGNMENT 2:
Report on NPP Safety and Security related to
Malaysian Nuclear Power Program

Lecturer: Dr Muhammad Adil Bin Khattak

By: Noraishah Syahirah Azhar (A12KP0054)

Question:

Download IAEA guides on NPP Safety and Security. Make 2 page reports
with distinct conclusion in light of Proposed Malaysian Nuclear Program.
Answer:
The Malaysian Government is considering nuclear energy for power
generation in future to meet increasing countrys electrical demand. If a
nuclear power plant would be built, the government should conduct public
awareness campaigns and taking into consideration public opinion. Among
the issues that have always been associated with nuclear energy is safety
and security issue. So, simply said, government should be taking into
consideration the safety and security issue regarding nuclear field mainly.
Nuclear safety and nuclear security have a common purpose the
protection of people, society and the environment. In both cases, such
protection is achieved by preventing a large release of radioactive
material. Many of the principles to ensure protection are common,
although their implementation may differ.
Three parties involved in safety and security of a nuclear power plant are
the state, regulatory authorities and operators. The State must set up an
appropriate legislative and regulatory framework to ensure control of
nuclear power plants, designate a regulatory authority or authorities in
both the safety and security fields and provide the regulator(s) with the
authority, competence and the financial and human resources necessary
to accomplish their tasks. They also have to define rules for confidentiality
and information protection in the security area and carry out checks to
ensure the trustworthiness of personnel.
Because of the close relationship between safety and security, many
countries see advantages in having a single regulator responsible for both.
This can be applied to Malaysian Nuclear Power Program. The regulator (or
regulators) must define the requirements to be satisfied by the operator
for both safety and security. The regulator must also set up and
implement a licensing system and an inspection and enforcement system.
The regulator must ensure that an adequate emergency response system
is in place, including various off-site elements that are not the
responsibility of the operator. In both the safety and security fields the
regulator must also observe international commitments. Police and
military can be involved to protect security of operators and power plant
generally.
The operating organization has the prime responsibility for the safety and
security of the nuclear power plant, although in the case of security, the

operators responsibility may be limited to defence against a design basis

threat. This allocation of responsibility reflects the reality that operating
staff are in the best position to identify the risks arising at the nuclear
power plant and to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.
The principle of optimization of protection, applicable to both safety and
security, is based on the idea that radiation risks must be kept as low as
reasonably achievable (ALARA), taking social and economic factors into
account. All risks, including those resulting from malicious acts, must be
assessed and re-assessed using a graded approach. In the security
context, defence in depth involves the establishment of a series of
protection layers around potential targets for sabotage or theft.
To obtain permission from public to build nuclear power plants, the
government will need to train skilled specialists in this field to help in the
government's public awareness efforts. Not just for public awareness,
government also need educational program relating to nuclear safety and
security to train experts to become regulatory authorities and operators.
Education is so important in nuclear related field. At present, there is
strong energy demand growth globally especially in developing countries
such as Malaysia. Therefore, there is a rapidly growing need for highly
qualified experts in nuclear safety. These experts can be obtained through
appropriate training and education at all levels and in all organization and
facilities involved in nuclear safety issues.
Technical Guidance for Educational Program in Nuclear Security by
International Atomic Energy Agency provides us with guidance for a
Master in Science majoring in nuclear programme and a certificate
programme in nuclear safety. The main objective is to provide a
comprehensive and current overview of nuclear security to the future
employees in nuclear related business.
Before choosing the right educational nuclear programme for Malaysia, a
domestic needs assessment should be done first. The program should
consist of educational programme and/or a nuclear security training
program. The graduates from this program can further their career at
different entities such as regulatory authorities, the nuclear industry and
the intelligence services. Nuclear Safety and Security is multidisciplinary
and can therefore offer job opportunities in a wide range of entities. These
experts can provide the necessary competencies for the effective national
nuclear security oversight of nuclear and other radioactive material.

Graduates of a programme in nuclear security should serve as nuclear

security officers in national authorities and nuclear related companies for
managing and carrying out nuclear security measures and should be the
backbone of the nuclear security knowledge network in the country.
According to their selected specialization, they should be able to analyse
the national nuclear infrastructure, evaluate the risk of malicious acts and
recommend optimum nuclear security measures. They should be able to
design and evaluate the effectiveness of physical protection systems,
assist in the development of new systems, arrange nuclear transport
security, and coordinate with response forces. They should be able to
establish an effective border monitoring system and have the capability to
analyse and resolve problems related to arrangements of border control,
detection of nuclear and other radioactive material for combating illicit
trafficking and the development of a States nuclear response plan and
related measures. Finally, they should be able to participate in crime
scene management and assist in prosecution process.
Nuclear safety should be a part of honour programme where all core
topics such as applied mathematics and basic nuclear physics should be
covered in first year, with specialization during second or even later year.
Among the issues to be faced are adequate lecturers qualified to teach
the multidisciplinary subject. This programme also requires appropriate
laboratories equipped with relevant nuclear security instruments. States
considering nuclear power for the first time such as Malaysia should be
made aware that both safety and security must be addressed and that
both security and safety should be implemented together.
References:
1. Educational Programme in Nuclear Security: IAEA Nuclear Security
Series No. 12, 2010, IAEA.
2.
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2015/01/22/putrajayaneeds-to-come-clean-on-nuclear-power/
3.http://www.iaea.org/INPRO/activities/Task3/NE_Decision_Making_1st/docu
ments/STATUS_OF_MALAYSIA_NUCLEAR_PROGRAM.pdf
4. The Interface between Safety and Security at Nuclear Power Plants
(INSAG-24), 2010, IAEA, Report by International Nuclear Safety Group