REMARKS OF NRC CHAIRMAN JACZKO AT NRC SECURITY BRIEFINGS 

Chairman Jaczko made the following remarks at the beginning and end of an open 

meeting at which the NRC staff discussed security issues: 

Opening Remarks

Good morning, the Commission meets today to receive its annual program briefing from 

the Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response (NSIR). NSIR’s program responsibilities 

are vital to the safety of our nuclear facilities. These responsibilities include security oversight of 

all NRC-regulated facilities, the development of emergency preparedness policies, and the 

coordination of our response to security incidents with law enforcement, intelligence, and other 

regulatory agencies. 

In order to fulfill its security mission, the NRC has worked actively in recent years to 

tailor its policies to the potential threats facing our licensees. New security requirements 

instituted since the 9/11 attacks include: increasing the number of security forces onsite, 

requiring greater training and qualifications for those personnel, strengthening the design basis 

threat, enhancing force-on-force exercises, increasing cyber security protections, and integrating 

response training with federal, state, and local agencies. NRC also made significant 

improvements to its incident response and emergency preparedness programs, and the agency is 

working on finalizing a proposed rulemaking for emergency preparedness. 

These efforts reflect how seriously the agency takes its security incident response and 

emergency preparedness missions, the hard work and expertise of the NSIR staff and 

stakeholders in developing these policies, and the diligence of the licensees in meeting their new 

responsibilities in these areas. I also would like to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of 

my colleagues on these fronts. Commissioner Svinicki has helped keep the Commission focused 

on the important implementation details and the development of the cyber security program. The 

Commission has also benefited from Commissioner Klein’s focus on incident response exercises 

and his work to strengthen integrated response efforts. 

Before I turn to my fellow Commissioners for their statements, I would like to note that, 

over the past couple of years, the Commission has been able to focus greater attention on 

codifying many of the past orders issued in the wake of 9/11. The rulemaking process provides a 

valuable opportunity for the Commission to clarify and strengthen regulations based on past 

experience. Today’s briefing is an important part of this process. 

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

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No. 10-008 January 12, 2010
Although we have made significant security gains in recent years, we cannot allow those 

successes to lull us into a false sense of complacency. The potential threats that our licensed 

facilities face are simply too real and evolve too quickly to let our guard down. I look forward to 

hearing the update from the staff on the status and progress of the important programs under their 

supervision. Would any of the other Commissioners care to make opening comments? 

Closing Remarks

I would like to thank the staff for their informative presentations today. We all appreciate 

your work on these critical programs, and look forward to working with you as the Commission 

considers ways to improve security at our licensed facilities. Thank you all again for a productive 

meeting. The meeting is adjourned. 

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Chairman Jaczko also spoke at the beginning and end of the annual threat assessment 

briefing for the Commission by the agency's security experts. Because of the classified nature of 

the briefing, the session was closed to the public. The chairman's comments: 

Opening Remarks

Good afternoon, the Commission meets today to receive its annual threat assessment 

briefing from the Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response (NSIR). As recent events 

over the holidays have shown, the threat of terrorism remains very much with us. 

This unfortunate reality highlights the importance of this afternoon’s meeting. The 

briefing the Commission will receive today plays an essential role in updating our design basis 

threats and determining the physical protection requirements of our regulations. 

We are all aware of the potential consequences of a successful terrorism attack against a 

nuclear facility. I have no doubt that today’s briefing will be a sober reminder of how seriously 

we must take our responsibilities in ensuring that those consequences never come to pass. 

Would any of the other Commissioners care to make comments? 

Closing Remarks

Thank you for the important information you shared with the Commission today. Today’s 

briefing certainly crystallized how critical security is to the NRC’s public safety mission. We 

will carefully consider today’s briefing information as we contemplate potential changes to our 

security regulations. This meeting is adjourned. 

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