I recently obtained unescorted access to the critical areas of several nuclear power plants. Does this automatically translate to a DOE clearance level?
No.
Unescorted access (UA or UAA it is often referred to) is not any type of security clearance. It doesn’t go through the government, even if the NRC mandates and regulates the process. It is a process that the utility that owns the plant does in order to verify your trustworthiness and reliability before granting you unescorted access to the protected/vital area(s) of the plant. The general process to get UA/UAA itself is kind of similar to the process for getting a non-TS security clearance though, but no, they are not the same thing at all.
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