What is the NRC: Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Jun 11, 2019 9:00:00 AM / by Michael Witt

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission — the NRC — is in charge of developing regulations that govern nuclear reactors and the safety of nuclear material, formulating policies, issuing orders to licensees and adjudicating legal matters. The chairman of the NRC is also responsible for planning the budget, conducting personnel functions of the agency, and conducting organizational and administrative long-range planning.

Nuclear power plants must have excellent security, including delay access borders and perimeter security to comply with the NRC’s policies. Kontek provides security solutions to keep personnel safe while providing security for such facilities. Because of the threat of terrorists, many sections of the interior of the plant, the perimeter and the access points should use strong bullet-resistant glass to keep employees safe and to keep terrorists away from the materials used in making nuclear power.

What Does the NRC Regulate?

What is the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and exactly what does it do? The NRC regulates nuclear power plants and materials, including:

  • Power reactors;
  • Research and test reactors;
  • Operating reactors;
  • Operator licensing;
  • New reactors;
  • Research activities;
  • Operator licensing for new reactors;
  • Special nuclear material;
  • Source material;
  • Byproduct material;
  • Radium;
  • Uranium recovery; and
  • Fuel cycle facilities.

Additionally, the NRC is responsible for overseeing the transportation of nuclear materials, processing and handling radioactive waste and overseeing nuclear security. The NRC library gives you a good idea of what Kontek has to do to provide security that meets NRC regulations and pass NRC inspections.

The NRC also conducts public meetings to discuss the safety issues of each plant, and whether the plant meets current safety regulations or should be put on alert to repair safety violations. Plants may also be shut down by the NRC if it finds defective or inoperable machinery, leaks and other issues with the machinery and materials at the plant.

You’ll find that the regulations are strict and Kontek is able to meet those regulations in providing perimeter security and other security solutions to nuclear facilities. If an inside area uses safety glass, that glass must also meet the regulations of the NRC.

Kontek and the NRC

Twelve nuclear power plants spread over nine states needed updated or new security measures to meet the NRC’s regulations. The NRC issued three orders in April 2003 that stated that nuclear power plants needed to update their security to be more stringent — and gave the power plants until October 2003 to do it. While the power plants had about six months to get into compliance, Kontek was able to design, manufacture and install 6,000 delay access barriers in the 12 nuclear facilities. This project was finished well ahead of schedule.

At the end of the job, all 12 of the nuclear facilities met the NRC’s deadline and requirements. Our state-of-the-art critical infrastructure protection products protect the nuclear facilities much better than previous to the changes.

In addition to nuclear facilities, Kontek also provided safety solutions for two national laboratories, Whitman Air Force Base and the United States Air Force.

Contact Kontek Industries for NRC Compliance Solutions

Contact Kontek Industries to discuss the security features you need to meet the NRC’s regulations. We will help you come up with a plan to provide the security you need with the materials required by the NRC to protect personnel and nuclear facilities from terrorist actions.

Topics: Critical Infrastructure, Regulations

Michael Witt

Published by Michael Witt

Michael Witt is the Director of Sales & Marketing at Kontek Industries. Michael is responsible for coordinating and executing sales strategies and marketing campaigns for the company. Prior to joining Kontek Industries, Michael was the Vice President of Sales of a U.S.-based physical security and surveillance company, where he managed a sales team supporting global security companies, the US Department of Defense, the US Department of Energy, law enforcement agencies, and various defense groups across the world. Michael Witt served in the United States Marine Corps from 2006 – 2010 and conducted combat operations in Afghanistan on multiple deployments. Michael has earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Gardner Webb University.