The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued a final rule requiring that those who have access to nuclear safeguards information - defined as sensitive, unclassified, security-related data - be fingerprinted and undergo an FBI criminal records check. Under the rule, those who have completed a background check within the past five years or who have an active security clearance need not be rescreened at this time. The fingerprinting requirement is required under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and is effective immediately. The NRC is currently working on a more comprehensive rule addressing the other issues set out in the act. The upcoming rule will address issues such as security precautions to preserve the integrity of safeguard information and how often employees must be rescreened. Read the rule [2].