Counterfeit, Fraudulent, and Suspect Items
The NRC requires U.S. nuclear power plants to use only those products and services exhibiting the highest quality in agency-regulated activities. This has always been a cornerstone in the NRC's mission of protecting public health and safety, promoting the common defense and security, and protecting the environment during the civilian use of radioactive materials. Vendors, suppliers and nuclear power plants must verify the quality of items destined for safety-related functions in NRC-regulated activities. Verification includes extensive inspections of an item's critical physical characteristics, combined with rigorous performance testing, to provide reasonable assurance that parts will perform their intended safety functions when required to do so.
Each of the various NRC-regulated industry sectors use similar regulatory language to meet the highest quality assurance standards for the products and services employed in NRC-regulated activities. The NRC advocates a proactive approach to detect and prevent the intrusion of counterfeit, fraudulent, and suspect items (CFSI) into agency-regulated equipment, components, systems, and structures. The NRC routinely interacts with regulated companies, other federal agencies, international organizations, industry trade associations (nuclear & industrial), and academia to stay abreast of emerging CFSI trends.
The NRC inspection staff works with these outside organizations in order to evaluate vulnerabilities in procurement processes and to share best practices for the prevention of CFSI in the supply chain. The NRC holds periodic public workshops to provide information and updates on CFSI issues and to solicit industry feedback and lessons learned. Finally, the NRC participates in Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) meetings to share CFSI information and lessons learned with foreign regulators.
The National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center) stands at the forefront of the United States Government's response to global intellectual property (IP) theft and enforcement of its international trade laws. The mission of the IPR Center is to ensure national security by protecting the public's health and safety, the U.S. economy, and our war fighters, and to stop predatory and unfair trade practices that threaten the global economy. To accomplish this goal, the IPR Center brings together 23 partner agencies, including the NRC, in a task-force setting. The task force structure enables the IPR Center to effectively leverage the resources, skills, and authorities of each partner and provide a comprehensive response to IP theft.
To report violations of intellectual property rights, including counterfeiting and piracy, to the National IPR Coordination Center, visit the IPR website.
