CHAPTER I - Introduction

A. Purpose.

The topical guidelines in this document concern the Department of Energy (DOE) program for New Production Reactors (NPR). These guidelines are the bases for:

1. Internal guidelines which specify what information pertaining to the NPR program is Unclassified Controlled Nuclear Information (UCNI).

2. Determinations made by a Reviewing Official that a document or material contains, does not contain, or no longer contains UCNI.

3. Determinations made by a Denying Official to deny the public release of portions of a document or material containing UCNI when the public release of the document or material has been requested under a statute (e.g., the Freedom of Information Act) or Executive order.

4. Preliminary review determinations made under DOE Order 5650.3A that certain unclassified documents or material may contain UCNI. Such documents or material require review by a Reviewing Official prior to further dissemination.

B. Background.

1. The DOE has been directed via section 148 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, to prohibit the unauthorized dissemination of certain unclassified information (termed UCNI) concerning atomic energy defense programs which pertains to:
a. the design of nuclear production or utilization facilities;

b. security measures for such facilities, nuclear materials contained in such facilities, or in transit; or

c. the design, manufacture, or utilization of any nuclear weapon or component if the information in question was once declassified or removed from the Restricted Data category pursuant to section 142 of the Atomic Energy Act.

2. In order for information related to the above categories to be controlled as UCNI under section 148, it must be determined that its unauthorized dissemination could reasonably be expected to have a significant adverse effect on the health and safety of the public or the common defense and security by significantly increasing the likelihood of:

a. the illegal production of nuclear weapons; or

b. the theft, diversion, or sabotage of nuclear materials, equipment, or facilities.

C. Policy.

1. General.
The basic policy for controlling unclassified information relating to the NPR program is to make as much information as possible publicly available to inform the public, while at the same time controlling that unclassified Government information which, if released, could result in the adverse effects described in paragraph B.2., above. In controlling such information, only the minimum restrictions needed to protect the health and safety of the public or the common defense and security shall be applied to prohibit the dissemination of UCNI. Unclassified information prohibited or exempt from control as UCNI shall not be controlled as UCNI (see references 2 or 5).

2. Relationship to Classification.
Many topics in this and other guidelines relate to information that is classified. In such instances, the information is classified and not UCNI. Any information under consideration as UCNI must be reviewed to ensure it is unclassified, and therefore, eligible for control as UCNI.

3. Government Information.
Information must be (a) owned by, (b) produced by or for, or (c) otherwise controlled by the United States Government in order to be controlled as UCNI.

4. Widely Disseminated Document or Material.
Any document or material which has been, is, or will be widely and irretrievably disseminated into the public domain, as determined by a Reviewing Official, and whose dissemination was not, is not, or will not be under the control of the Government is exempt from control under these guidelines regardless of its content. However, the fact that information is in the public domain is not a sufficient basis for determining that similar or updated Government-owned and -controlled information contained in another document or material is not or is no longer UCNI. Rather, case-by-case determinations are required.

5. Release of Information.
a. Information determined to be unclassified and not UCNI is not automatically approved for release to the public. Unclassified information may be subject to other limitations on distribution (e.g., proprietary information, export control laws and regulations, the Privacy Act, other exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act, etc.). Review of all applicable regulations as required by the specifics of each case is the responsibility of the official authorizing the release.

NOTE: Unclassified information about the NPR program should not be given gratuitous distribution and should not be released outside of the DOE without the approval of the Office of Classification (SA-20).

D. Authority.

These topical guidelines have been approved by the Director, Office of Classification (SA-20), under paragraph 7h(5) of DOE Order 5650.3A.

E. Scope.

1. These guidelines apply to "New Production Reactors (NPR)" and also to facilities, equipment, and activities required to support NPR functions. They are generally intended to provide guidance concerning facilities and equipment designed exclusively in response to NPR requirements but, in some instances, may concern existing facilities. Information concerning existing facilities that may be used in the future to support the NPR should be reviewed in light of topical or site-specific internal UCNI guidelines applicable to such existing facilities, where available. Where approved guidelines are not available, these guidelines apply to the use of existing facilities, equipment, or activities to support the NPR program. The agency decision in September 1992 to postpone indefinitely work on the NPR program has not affected the status of information previously determined to be UCNI. This topical guideline continues to provide (along with other general, topical, and internal guidelines) a basis for document reviews.

2. These guidelines do not apply to classified information. Appropriate classification guides (CG-PR-2, CG-TSS-2, CG-SS-2, PR-18, CG-TPT-1 (Rev.), etc.) provide guidance and must be consulted regarding information that is classified under statute or Executive order.

F. Procedures.

1. Review and Denial of Documents and Material.

a. A Reviewing Official shall base his or her review determination that a document or material contains, does not contain, or no longer contains UCNI on general guidelines, these topical guidelines, or internal guidelines authorized for his or her use.

b. A Denying Official shall base his or her determination to deny the public release of all or portions of a document or material containing UCNI on general guidelines, these topical guidelines, or on internal guidelines authorized for his or her use.

c. A person other than a Reviewing Official may make a preliminary determination that information may be, or a document or material may contain, UCNI based on these topical guidelines if the person:

(1) Is the originator of a newly generated document or material;


or

(2) Has cognizance over the information.

d. Prior to any person basing a determination on these topical guidelines or any other UCNI guidelines, the person shall insure that the specific information under consideration for control as UCNI is not classified.

2. Internal Guidelines.

a. Internal guidelines shall be based on general guidelines and on these and other topical guidelines.

b. All internal guidelines shall be approved by SA-20.

c. As approved topical guidelines, this document will be listed in the approved General Guidelines document.

G. Issuing Organization.

These guidelines are issued by the Director, Office of Classification (SA-20), Headquarters, DOE. Comments and recommendations concerning these guidelines should be sent to SA-20. Requests to be added to or removed from the distribution list for these guidelines should be sent to the Director, Office of Classification, SA-20, U.S. Department of Energy, 19901 Germantown Road, Germantown, Maryland 20874.

H. Information Not Covered By These or General Guidelines.

A Reviewing Official may recommend to SA-20 new subject areas, new topics, or revisions to existing topics for inclusion in general or topical guidelines. A determination by (1) the originator of a document or material, or (2) a person having cognizance over information in a document or material that a document or material may contain UCNI is one source for such recommendations. SA-20 shall review these recommendations and, if appropriate, initiate the formal process to revise existing guidelines based on such recommendations.

I. References.

  1. The Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), which is the statutory basis for UCNI.
  2. 10 CFR Part 1017, "Identification and Protection of Unclassified Controlled Nuclear Information," which implements section 148 (42 U.S.C. 2168) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954.
  3. DOE 5633.3, Control and Accountability of Nuclear Materials, of 2-3-88, which contains the basic principles and requirements for the control and accountability of nuclear materials.
  4. DOE 5635.4, Protection of Unclassified Controlled Nuclear Information, of 2-3-88, which establishes policies, procedures, and responsibilities for the protection of UCNI.
  5. DOE 5650.3A, Identification of Unclassified Controlled Nuclear Information, of 6-8-92, which establishes policies, procedures, and responsibilities for the identification of UCNI.
  6. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552), which establishes policies and procedures concerning the release of information in Government documents and material to the public.
  7. DOE 1700.1, Freedom of Information Program, of 11-19-79, which establishes guidelines and procedures for processing requests made to the DOE under the FOIA.
  8. GG-2, Unclassified Controlled Nuclear Information General Guidelines, the document which gives the approved guidelines upon which all topics in this document are based.
  9. CG-PR-2, Classification Guide for Production Reactors and Related Operations, dated September 1985.
  10. CG-TPT-1 (Rev.), Tritium Production and Processing Technology Classification Guide, dated August 1978.
  11. CG-SS-2, July 1990, Safeguards and Security Classification Guide.
  12. CG-TSS-2, January 1991, DOE Transportation Safeguards System.
  13. PR-18, Classification Bulletin, Replacement Production Reactor Plans and Studies.
  14. TG-FSSS-1, September 1992, UCNI Topical Guidelines for Fixed Site Safeguards and Security.

J. Topic Cross Reference List

Each UCNI topical guideline topic which indicates information is UCNI must have its basis identified. This is done by including at the end of a topic a citation to the appropriate general guideline topic (e.g., GG Number 5, 19, etc.) listed in the UCNI General Guideline document, currently GG-2. In addition, each UCNI topical guideline topic must also cite a unique identification number so that it may itself be cited as a basis for internal guideline topics. For example:

B.1 This is a simulated topical guideline topic followed by a citation to the general guideline topic upon which it is based and to its own identification number (Basis: GG Number 5; ID No.: NPR Number 1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . UCNI

Topic Cross Reference List


Topic Number       NPR ID Number

-----------------  -------------

II.B.1.                  1

II.B.1.a.                2

II.B.1.b.                3

II.B.1.c.                4

II.B.1.d.                5

II.B.1.e.                6

II.B.1.f.                7

II.B.1.g.                8

II.B.1.g.(1)             9

II.B.3.                 10

II.B.3.a.               11

II.D.1.                 12


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