Addressing the Tunnel Threat at Nuclear Facilities: A Case Study

Abstract

In this paper, a tunnel threat at nuclear facilities is introduced as a case study. A tunnel threat detecting sensor-based physical security system is presented, and a real time alert of tunnel digging by adversaries around the nuclear facilities is illustrated. This paper also describes the system design for tunnel threat detection, geophone sensor-based detection techniques, and how to response to that threat through an alarm and wireless communication system. This study claims that tunnel threats are not yet considered in designing the physical protection systems at existing nuclear facilities. The proposed tunnel threat detection system is a timely approach to designing the robust physical protection system of nuclear facilities. The inclusion of tunnel threats along with other threats will no doubt enhance the nuclear security regime of nuclear installations.