New Measures to Safeguard Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Plants

Conference · Sat Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 2011

OSTI ID:1018989

Garner, James R ^[1]; Whitaker, Michael ^[1]; Lockwood, Dunbar ^[2]; Gilligan, Kimberly V ^[1]; Younkin, James R ^[1]; Hooper, David A ^[1]; Henkel, James J ^[1]; Krichinsky, Alan M ^[1]

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1. ORNL
2. U.S. Department of Energy, NNSA

As Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Plants (GCEPs) increase in separative work unit (SWU) capacity, the current International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) model safeguards approach needs to be strengthened. New measures to increase the effectiveness of the safeguards approach are being investigated that will be mutually beneficial to the facility operators and the IAEA. One of the key concepts being studied for application at future GCEPs is embracing joint use equipment for process monitoring of load cells at feed and withdrawal (F/W) stations. A mock F/W system was built at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to generate and collect F/W data from an analogous system. The ORNL system has been used to collect data representing several realistic normal process and off-normal (including diversion) scenarios. Emphasis is placed on the novelty of the analysis of data from the sensors as well as the ability to build information out of raw data, which facilitates a more effective and efficient verification process. This paper will provide a progress report on recent accomplishments and next steps.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
• Sponsoring Organization: NNSA USDOE - National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1018989
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL PROTECTION
CAPACITY
GAS CENTRIFUGES
IAEA
MONITORING
ORNL
SAFEGUARDS
SENSORS
VERIFICATION