Good Afternoon,
I am writing in response to your email concerning unidentified aircraft, such as drones, in the vicinity of the Salem and Hope Creek Generating Stations. These types of events have occurred at a number of sites over the past several years, and we understand that the recent incidences are concerning. The NRC monitors such events and requires U.S. nuclear power plant licensees to report suspicious oversight activity, including the presence of drones, to us. In turn, we pass the information on to the FAA and FBI so those agencies can take proper action, as necessary.
As a former plant operator, you likely know better than most that nuclear power plants are hardened facilities designed such that the most important safety equipment is physically separated, typically redundant, and contained in robust structures. The NRC has contracted with the U.S. National Laboratories to perform vulnerability studies to assess unmanned aircraft systems’ (drones’) potential impacts to the safety and security of nuclear power plants. The NRC uses these studies together with ongoing interactions with the intelligence community and other federal partners to gain real-time information on the use and availability of drones. Additionally, the staff conducted a technical analysis of the potential threat posed by such aircraft and provided a paper to the Commission with its findings. A summary of the findings is publicly available via the embedded link.
As a result of the technical analyses referenced above, the NRC staff concluded there are currently no risk-significant vulnerabilities to nuclear power plants from drones and, as such, does not intend to pursue changes to licensees’ defensive strategies.
Thank you for sending your concern.
Respectfully,
Marjey McLaughlin
