Nuclear regulatory measures to prevent illicit use of nuclear materials and radioactive sources

The countries and international organizations are increasingly aware of the consequences that illicit use of nuclear materials and other radioactive sources might generate, being the most important one the risk and damage to persons. Therefore, these events have sparked off several initiatives, at a national and international level, in order to prevent their occurrence, and in the case of the event-taking place, to rapidly adopt the measures to recover these materials and mitigate the consequences. The existence of competent regulatory authorities that set up adequate control measures is an essential component to lower the probability of occurrence of illicit uses of nuclear materials. Moreover, the coordination by the nuclear regulatory authority of all relevant measures with other national organizations is seen as an important contribution to prevent these illegal uses. Internationally, the different forms of co-operation constitute important elements for the prevention of illegal movements of nuclear materials and radioactive sources between boundaries. This paper briefly describes the way in which the different nuclear regulatory measures and other measures contribute to the objective of preventing and responding to the illicit use of nuclear materials. It also includes a reference to the measures applicable to prevent illicit use of radioactive sources. (author)