CAT1 meaning

In civil nuclear security practice, CAT1 denotes “Category 1” material identified for protective security purposes under the Office for Nuclear Regulation (onr) Civil Nuclear Industry Classification policy titled “Information Concerning the Use, Storage and Transport of Nuclear and Other Radioactive Material”. It is a sectoral term of art rather than a statutory definition, but it is applied within the UK regulatory framework (including the Nuclear Industries Security Regulations 2003 (NISR 2003)) to inform security planning and compliance. Key features and use: - Identifies higher‑risk nuclear or other radioactive material, and related information, that requires the most stringent protective security controls. - Triggers enhanced measures for access control, personnel vetting, secure storage, movement and transport security, incident reporting and audit. - Commonly referenced in site security plans, transport security statements, procurement and contractual documentation (e.g., NDAs) dealing with sensitive nuclear information. Jurisdictional note: - Usage and effect are broadly consistent across England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland under ONR oversight. - In Ireland, comparable risk categorisation exists under regulatory guidance aligned with IAEA principles, but the specific “CAT1” label is not generally used; terminology and regulatory references may differ and should be checked against current EPA/ORP requirements.