The Dutch Authority for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection (Autoriteit Nucleaire Veiligheid en Stralingsbescherming, ANVS) has renewed the agreements with the police. These agreements relate to the secure transportation of specific fissionable materials. The fissionable materials that need to be secured include, for example, the fuel used in a nuclear power plant, and for this reason, international agreements exist that these fissionable materials must be transported securely to avoid sabotage and theft. In some cases, this must even be carried out by armed security guards, which only the police are permitted to do in the Netherlands. The previous agreements were made in 1990.
Renewed agreements
The method currently used for the transportation of nuclear materials is based on agreements made in 1990 between the then Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment (VROM) and the then National Police Services Agency (KLPD). Since then, they have not been further renewed. Because the agreements are now rather outdated, and because other organisations are involved, it was necessary to renew the agreements. The agreements from 1990 are no longer valid.
The role of the ANVS in nuclear transportation
In order to be able to transport fissionable material, the Nuclear Energy Act specifies that a licence is required. It is the ANVS that grants these licences in the Netherlands. The licensee is the initial party responsible for making sure transportation is secure. This also means that the licensee must have a security plan for this type of transport approved by the ANVS.
Armed transportation
The licensee must not do everything themselves when it comes to security. Accordingly, the licensee must not personally provide armed security for the nuclear transportation, but the police are permitted to do so. This is known as a “monopoly on the use of force”.
Categories of nuclear fissionable material and security
There are three categories of nuclear fissionable materials, category I, II and III. Fissionable materials in category I are the most potentially appealing fissionable materials for theft and sabotage. According to the former agreements, only transportation of fissionable materials in that category required armed security.
The agreements state that armed security may also be required for Category II fissionable materials. In order to examine whether this is also truly necessary for the Dutch situation, a study will be carried out by the ANVS, the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) and the National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism (NCTV).