A Nuclear Security question?

[Adventurer104]

News reports indicate a data center North of Amarillo Texas is to be powered by an onsite nuclear power plant. Several other news sources indicate other centers will have the same set up.
Will that require a heavily armed security forces to protect the nuclear plants from terrorist attack or misuse of radioactive substances?
I just have some issue with a IT company running an effective security force.

 

[publiusr]

Tornadoes are the biggest threat, with reactors overbuilt as a result.

Researcher Thomas Grazulis got his start on tornado research with work for the NRC.

Anything that is built to handle a Moore '99 event can withstand a kid and his drone dropping a pipe bomb.

 

[TomS]

I wouldn't worry too much; the odds of nuclear power every actually being used at Matador is slim -- the initial build calls for solar, natural gas, and wind (wonder what Trump would think if he knew that).

 

[GTX]

I just have some issue with a IT company running an effective security force.

Any different from power utilities, medical operations (with nuclear medicine etc), universities, all of which have nuclear material to varying degrees? What about basic defence companies with all sorts of things including lethal weapons? Private security to varying degrees used in all.

 

[TomS]

That said, if they ever actually do install reactors, yes, they'll need armed security, just like all the existing power companies that run reactors. And yes, Fermi America is functionally a power utility. They will own the powerplants, separate fomr their IT customers who own the datacenters.

https://www.nrc.gov/security/domestic/phys-protect/response

 

[Scott Kenny]

Thing is, you can contract out for site security. Lots of companies licensed and capable of giving the correct level of armed guard. In fact, I'd bet that the NRC has a whole list of companies that have been contracted for that work that they'll suggest to the new plant operators.