Argonne is testing how insider actions could disrupt passive safety systems in next-generation nuclear reactors.
Engineers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory are testing how insider actions could disrupt passive safety systems in next-generation nuclear reactors before those designs are built and licensed.
Passive safety systems are already used in many operating reactors worldwide and have decades of data supporting their reliability. Future reactors, including small modular reactors and other advanced designs, rely even more heavily on these systems. That makes understanding their vulnerabilities critical.“We want to know what would cause these systems to not work. In this project, we’re focusing on bad guys who might have authorized access and knowledge of inside workings. What could they do to make things break?” said Darius Lisowski, group manager of reactor safety testing and analysis at Argonne.Rather than treating sabotage as a hypothetical risk, Argonne researchers are testing real-world scenarios using large-scale experimental facilities.Stress-testing passive safetyThe work centers on Argonne’s Natural Convection Shutdown Heat Removal Test Facility, which allows engineers to simulate how heat moves through reactor systems when pumps and power are unavailable. Researchers examined potential insider actions, such as leaving access hatches open or deliberately blocking cooling pathways.The project began more than two years ago and involved collaboration with Sandia National Laboratories, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Idaho National Laboratory. The team first identified plausible sabotage scenarios and then assessed how likely and damaging those actions could be.Their findings were compiled into a report titled “Identifying Sabotage Risks and Adversarial Threats to Passive Decay Heat Removal Systems in Advanced Nuclear Reactors,” prepared for the International Atomic Energy Agency.As expected, the researchers found that nuclear plants are built with multiple layers of protection. Controlled access, alarms, redundancy, and conservative design make successful sabotage difficult. Even so, the team concluded that some vulnerabilities are worth addressing early, while reactor designs are still flexible.To test those weak points, Argonne researchers intentionally recreated the most credible scenarios inside the test facility. They blocked cooling paths. They left components unsecured. They measured how systems responded under stress.“Our research is relevant and applicable to every U.S. nuclear vendor out there,” said Matthew Bucknor, Argonne’s international nuclear security lead.Designing out weak pointsThe experiments are not aimed at any specific reactor company or design. Instead, they focus on common features shared across many advanced reactor concepts. According to the team, identifying risks early can prevent small oversights from becoming serious problems later.“By using redundancy, focusing on the most severe threats, and meeting strict design tests, we can make sure passive safety features are robust,” Lisowski said. “Design improvements will happen early, before the next generation of reactors goes into operation.”The work is funded by the DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration and has received support for continued research. As countries look to nuclear energy to meet rising electricity demand from AI, data centers, and electrification, the researchers argue that safety and security must evolve alongside reactor technology.
Argonne National Laboratory DOE Insider Threats Keywords: Nuclear Energy Nuclear Energy Nuclear Engineering Passive Safety Systems Reactor Security
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