Wide-area monitoring to detect undeclared nuclear facilities

Conference · Thu Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1994

OSTI ID:10194735

Wogman, N

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is committed to strengthening and streamlining the overall effectiveness of the IAEA safeguards system. The IAEA is investigating the use of environmental monitoring techniques to strengthen its capability to detect undeclared nuclear activities. The IAEA`s Program 93+2 Initiative has been established to develop, test, and assess strengthening techniques and measures. Some of the techniques have been validated and are being implemented during routine safeguards inspections. The effectiveness of other techniques is being studied as a part of extensive field trials conducted at nuclear facilities of various Member States during 1993 and 1994. Proposals based on the results of these investigations and recommendations for new safeguards activities are expected to be presented to the March 1995 Board of Governors Meeting. The techniques in use or under study during IAEA field trials address various types of environmental monitoring applications as outlined under Program 93+2`s Task 3, Environmental Monitoring Techniques for Safeguards Applications, namely, the use of short-range monitoring during inspections and visits to investigate sites of possible undeclared activities. With the exception of wide-area water sampling in Iraq, the use of long-range monitoring, in the absence of any indication of undeclared nuclear activities, remains largely unexamined by the IAEA. The efficacy of long-range monitoring depends on the availability of mobile signature isotopes or compounds and on the ability to distinguish the nuclear signatures from background signals and attributing them to a source. The scope of this paper is to provide technical information to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on possible wide-area survey techniques for the detection of undeclared nuclear activities. The primary focus is the detection of effluents from reprocessing activities.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC06-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 10194735
• Report Number(s): PNL-SA--24889; CONF-9409247--1; ON: DE95003131
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

350100
350300
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540230
540330
98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL PROTECTION
DETECTION
IAEA SAFEGUARDS
MONITORING
NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
NUCLEAR FREEZE
POLICY, NEGOTIATIONS, AND LEGISLATION
RADIATION DETECTION
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS MONITORING AND TRANSPORT
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
RECOMMENDATIONS
VERIFICATION