DEVELOPMENTS IN THE IAEA’S NUCLEAR SECURITY SERIES AND PHYSICAL PROTECTION GUIDANCE DOCUMENT INFCIRC/225

摘要

The IAEA’s guidance document The Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and NuclearFacilities (INFCIRC/225) has long been considered the internationally accepted standard fornuclear physical protection, and the practical complement to the Convention on the PhysicalProtection of Nuclear Material. It is not a legally binding instrument as such, but it is given legallybinding effect in some bilateral nuclear safeguards agreements that prescribe INFCIRC/225 as thestandard to be applied to nuclear material supplied under such agreements.INFCIRC/225 has been updated several times, the current version being INFCIRC/225/Rev.4.Revision 4 is undergoing a major revision, and the new document, INFCIRC/225.Rev.5, willbecome a key recommendations document in the IAEA’s newly launched Nuclear Security Series.This paper will focus on two aspects of the development of INFCIRC/225 and the IAEA’s NuclearSecurity Series (NSS), from the perspective of a nuclear security regulator and administrator ofbilateral nuclear safeguards agreements. First, the main differences between INFCIRC/225/Rev.4and INFCIRC/225/Rev.5 will be described, focusing on what these changes may mean for a facilityoperator and regulator. Second, the paper will discuss the evolving philosophy behind the NSS, howRevision 5 fits within this structure, and the possible direction of future revisions of Revision 5 tofit this structure. Given the centrality of INFCIRC/225 in many bilateral nuclear safeguardsagreements, any future evolution of this document would need to be managed carefully.