Interactive Security by Design for Pyroprocessing Facilities

Advanced fuel cycle technologies, such as pyroprocessing, offer potential for closing the nuclear fuel cycle, improving resource utilization, and minimizing high-level waste. However, commercializing and deploying these facilities demands a security-by-design approach that anticipates complex security, safety, and operational challenges. Embedding security early in the design and engineering phases of a pyroprocessing plant is essential to prevent material theft or sabotage, ensure facility resilience, and streamline potential licensing. This session features an interactive, hands-on tabletop exercise demonstrating security-by-design principles applied directly to a hypothetical pyroprocessing plant. Utilizing Scribe3D developed by Sandia National Laboratories and a realistic 3D model of a pyroprocessing facility, participants will engage in a real-time security-by-design exercise. Guided by nuclear security experts, attendees will identify adversary attack methods, evaluate physical protection system technologies or measures, and explore design optimization strategies. Through this collaborative, software-enabled exercise, the session will address central questions: How do engineers integrate physical security into the early-stage design of a facility? How can virtual 3D environments and simulation software help balance physical security requirements with operational and safety constraints?