Evaluating security risk among source operators in nuclear and radiological facilities

The use of radioactive sources is steadily expanding globally, contributing to the betterment of society and human well-being. However, they can lead to incidents and radiological emergencies, with wide consequences due to a lack of regulatory measures and awareness of potential security threats. Source operators bear the primary responsibility for ensuring the security of radioactive sources during operation, storage, transport, and disuse. The study evaluates the risk perception by validating five hypotheses with survey data based on three observed indicators of knowledge, belief, and attitude of a sample of 91 source operators (N = 91) who work at nuclear and radiological facilities in Bangladesh. More than 60% of source operators participated in a qualitative explorative survey. The results show that risk perception is insensitive to gender and the level of the profession but varies significantly with the level of education and experience. Less than 50% of source operators have minimal knowledge about insider threat prevention. Over 40% of source operators doubt insiders can pose a significant risk to the facility. Less than 50% of source operators lack confidence in the facility's ability to respond to sabotage, despite being well-informed about potential consequences and proper handling procedures for radiological incidents. More importantly, about 47% of source operators believe that radioactive sources are unlikely to be stolen, sabotaged, or used for malicious purposes. The study concludes that source operators lack adequate knowledge of threat attributes and regulatory measures, and this conclusion is supported by the validation of five specific hypotheses. The study recommends periodically exercising a nuclear security culture within regulators and operators to effectively counter security threats.