MONIZ: IAEA SECURITY GROUP TO VISIT U.S. NUCLEAR SITE

The United States will host an International Atomic Energy Agency-led security assessment at a Department of Energy nuclear facility, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz told the IAEA International Conference on Nuclear Security yesterday. Moniz did not identify the site or a timeframe, but said that the IAEA’s International Physical Protection Advisory Service would conduct a mission at a U.S. nuclear facility this year. The visit would come approximately a year after three peace activists penetrated the most secure area of the Y-12 National Security Complex, which Moniz called a “humbling” experience. “While no sensitive material was in immediate danger, the fact that one year ago three individuals could approach and deface the exterior of a facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex—where the United States stores highly enriched uranium—is unacceptable,” Moniz said according to a statement released by the IAEA. “We have made—and will continue to make—important changes to ensure that these types of events do not happen again.” According to the IAEA website, the International Physical Protection Advisory Service assembles a team of international experts at the requests of member states that “assess the State’s system of physical protection, compare it with international best practices and make recommendations for improvements.”