CHAPTER II - UCNI Guidelines

A. General.

Information concerning the design of production reactors, accelerators, and support facilities and equipment is, for the most part, available for unrestricted public dissemination. This is particularly true for reactors dedicated to power production, but is also true for those whose prime function is the production of nuclear materials. However, information concerning production reactors that meets the criteria established by section 148 of the Atomic Energy Act, as amended (see Chapter I, paragraph B), must be marked and protected as UCNI. Care must be taken to ensure that all information pertaining to the NPR program is carefully reviewed for both classification and UCNI relevancy because:

1. NPR facilities and activities will have a critical impact on maintenance of U.S. nuclear capabilities and, therefore, national security;

2. NPR programs incorporate state-of-the-art designs and may incorporate equipment and procedures not previously utilized;

3. Theft or diversion of technology or nuclear materials would significantly increase the likelihood of illegal production of a nuclear weapon; and

4. Sabotage of facilities and equipment pertaining to NPR activities could cause damage to the national security and would significantly increase the likelihood of adverse effects on public health and safety.

NOTE: The notation in parentheses (Basis: GG Numbers) at the end of each of the following guidelines is a number indexed to the UCNI General Guidelines (Reference 8) topics on which the finding of UCNI for NPR topics is based.

B. Facility and Equipment Design and Operation.

1. Unclassified design or design-related operational information revealing details which could significantly assist in the design, manufacture, or operation of a similar facility or which could significantly assist in planning or executing an act of theft or diversion of nuclear materials or an act of sabotage which could prevent safe operation of the facility, safe shutdown under normal or abnormal conditions, or timely and effective response to an incident or accident (Basis: GG Number 10, GG Number 11; ID No.: NPR Number 1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . UCNI

NOTE: Internal guidelines pertaining to the NPR program will provide information regarding the definitive list of facilities, functions, and equipment which require protection as UCNI.

This includes, but is not necessarily limited to:

a. Detailed facility design or design-related operational information which is key to its efficient operation (Basis: GG Number 12, GG Number 13; ID No.: NPR Number 2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . UCNI

b. Detailed design or design-related operational information concerning critical or emergency equipment or systems (Basis: GG Number 12, GG Number 13; ID No.: NPR Number 3) . . . . . UCNI

c. Detailed floor plans of sensitive NPR-related facilities (see note above) revealing interior building/floor layouts (Basis: GG Number 6; ID No.: NPR Number 4) . . . . . . . UCNI

d. The specific location (room, panel, coordinates, routing, etc., but not building, area, etc.) of critical or emergency equipment (drawings, schematics, floor plans, photographs, text, etc.) (Basis: GG Number 12, GG Number 13; ID No.: NPR Number 5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . UCNI

e. Detailed designs or design-related operational information concerning piping, valves, wiring, power supplies, etc., which if sabotaged could cause major damage, extensive down-time, defeat of emergency or back-up systems or radioactive release significantly above allowable limits (Basis: GG Number 11; ID No.: NPR Number 6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . UCNI

f. Information concerning instrumentation and control systems which, if sabotaged, could result in faulty/erroneous indications or personnel actions and which could significantly assist in planning such an act of sabotage (Basis: GG Number 11, GG Number 12, GG Number 13; ID No.: NPR Number 7) . . . . . . . . . . . . . UCNI

g. Information revealing distinctive/unique features of critical equipment and for details thereof which would significantly assist in identifying or locating a specific target for sabotage/attack (Basis: GG Number 7, GG Number 12, GG Number 13; ID No.: NPR Number 8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . UCNI

(1) Equipment number identification, distinctive sizes of cooling loop piping, power supply points, etc. (Basis: GG Number 12, GG Number 13; ID No.: NPR Number 9) . . . . . . . . . . UCNI

2. Generalized/simplified design information or other information which does not significantly assist in designing, manufacturing, assembling, or operating a similar facility or which would not significantly assist a malefactor in planning or executing an act of theft, diversion, or sabotage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NOT UCNI

This includes:

a. Block diagrams, simplified system schematics, etc., not detailing specifics of valves, piping, control systems, instrumentation, etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NOT UCNI

b. Generalized maps, charts, floor plans, text, etc., not revealing specific locations, interior details, or distinctive/unique features of equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NOT UCNI

NOTE: However, see topics II.B(1)(c) and (d) above and section II.C(1) below.

c. Complete design/operation of support equipment or components which are not required for safe operation or are not likely to be major sabotage targets (wiring diagrams for office lighting, sanitary/potable water, administrative office or support shop HVAC, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NOT UCNI

d. Information concerning potential environmental, health, or safety impacts based on hypothetical, maximum credible, or actual incidents or accidents, providing sensitive design or design- related operational information is not revealed . . . . NOT UCNI

NOTES:
  1. In the event of an actual incident/accident, the fact that a specific component or piece of equipment failed and the specific cause (i.e., fire as result of short in panel controlling motor-driven valves for . . ., weld failure in heat exchange, etc.) are NOT UCNI. Detailed information to determine why the incident occurred and measures to preclude future events are also NOT UCNI provided sensitive design information is not revealed.

  2. When it is necessary or desirable to release publicly sensitive design information concerning an incident or corrective measures, the proposed release along with rationale for the release should be coordinated with the appropriate Operations Office and Headquarters organizations.

3. Realistic scenarios/studies/analyses containing specific details that, if divulged, could be used by a malefactor to cause major damage to essential equipment or release of hazardous or radioactive materials above permissible standards to the environment, and that could assist a potential saboteur in initiating such an event (Basis: GG Number 7, GG Number 11; ID No.: NPR Number 10) . . . . . . . . . . . . UCNI

a. Information revealing what specific equipment/facilities is vital to NPR functioning and which reveals details that could significantly aid a malefactor (e.g., information in vital area analyses and similar studies indicating specific individual equipment or groups of equipment that must be protected) (Basis: GG Number 7; ID No.: NPR Number 11) . . . . . . . . . . . . UCNI

b. However, generalized or obvious information that would not significantly aid a malefactor (e.g., the fact that disruption of power, cooling, etc., will cause SCRAM; that sabotage of control room equipment or loss of primary and emergency cooling could cause major damage/outage; generalized scenarios not revealing specific methods or details, etc.) . . . . . . NOT UCNI

C. Security.

Information in the topical area of security should first be determined to be unclassified by CG-SS-2 or CG-TSS-2. If unclassified, it should then be checked against TG-FSSS-1 and UCNI internal guidelines for a UCNI determination.

D. "No Comment" Policy.

The following topics are the basis for the "no comment" policy concerning widely disseminated documents or materials:

  1. The fact that a document or material contains or does not contain UCNI if it is (or is to be) widely and irretrievably disseminated in the public domain because its dissemination is not (or will not be) under the control of the Government (Basis: GG Number 8; ID No.: NPR Number 12) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . UCNI

  2. The fact that a document or material which has been or is being officially released into the public domain does not contain UCNI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NOT UCNI

CHAPTER III - Definitions

A. Atomic Energy Defense Programs.

Activities, equipment, and facilities of DOE or other Government agencies utilized or engaged in support of the following:

  1. Development, production, testing, sampling, maintenance, repair, modification, assembly, utilization, transportation, or retirement of nuclear weapons or components of nuclear weapons;

  2. Production, utilization, or transportation of nuclear material for military applications; or

  3. Safeguarding of activities, equipment, or facilities which support the above functions including the protection of nuclear weapons, components of nuclear weapons, or nuclear material for military applications, any of which may be at a fixed facility or in transit.

B. Controlling Official.

An individual authorized to make a determination that specific Government information is, is not, or is no longer UCNI.

C. Denying Official.

An individual authorized to deny a request made under statute or Executive order for all or any portion of a document or material containing UCNI.

D. Document or Material.

The physical medium on or in which information is recorded, or a product or substance which contains or reveals information, regardless of its physical form or characteristics.

E. Government Information.

Any information that is (1) owned by, (2) produced by or for, or (3) otherwise controlled by the U.S. Government.

F. Information.

Any fact or concept regardless of the physical form or characteristics of the medium on or in which it is recorded, contained, or revealed.

G. Nuclear Material.

Special nuclear material, byproduct material, and source material, and other materials used in the production, testing, utilization, or assembly of nuclear weapons or components of nuclear weapons that are determined to be "nuclear materials" by the Secretary of Energy pursuant to 10 CFR Part 1017.

H. Reviewing Official.

An individual authorized to determine, based on guidelines which reflect decisions of Controlling Officials, that a document or material does, does not, or no longer contains UCNI.

I. Special Nuclear Material.

Plutonium, uranium enriched in the isotope 233 or 235, and any other material pursuant to the provisions of section 51 of the Atomic Energy Act determined to be special nuclear material, or any material artificially enriched by any of the foregoing, but does not include source material.

CHAPTER IV - Abbreviations and Acronyms


CG     Classification Guide

DOE    Department of Energy

FOIA   Freedom of Information Act

GG     UCNI General Guidelines

HVAC   Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning

NPR    New Production Reactors

RD     Restricted Data

SA     Office of Security Affairs, Headquarters, DOE

SA-20  Office of Classification, Security Affairs, Headquarters, DOE

SNM    Special Nuclear Material

TG     Topical Guideline

UCNI   Unclassified Controlled Nuclear Information

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