Safeguarding a reprocessing plant with the method of cumulated flux

Conference · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1987 · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (USA)

OSTI ID:5493591

Delange, M

The basic principles of international safeguards and the roles of accountancy verifications and surveillance measures, especially in large bulk-handling facilities, are recalled. An approach for safeguarding large industrial reprocessing plants can be based on procedures that have been progressively developed since 1966 in the UP2 plant, where 1800 tonnes of light water reactor fuels have been reprocessed since 1976. This approach is now routinely used for management purposes. Such a reprocessing plant is essentially composed of three material balance areas (MBAs): (1) storage of irradiated fuel, (2) process area, and (3) product storage. For the process area MBA, the suggested approach is based on a combination of real-time accountancy verification of all inputs and outputs, and permanent assessment of the cumulated flux of inputs and outputs. This permanent assessment enables international inspectors to know the amount of nuclear material that is declared as being under process daily, and to compare it with the quantity that is supposed to be under process, according to the design information of the plant.

• OSTI ID: 5493591
• Report Number(s): CONF-871110--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (USA) Journal Volume: 55
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

050800 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Spent Fuels Reprocessing
055001* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Safeguards
Inspection
& Accountability-- Technical Aspects
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL PROTECTION
ACCOUNTABILITY
EUROPE
FRANCE
FUEL REPROCESSING PLANTS
MANAGEMENT
MATERIAL BALANCE
MATERIAL BALANCE AREA
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
NUCLEAR MATERIALS MANAGEMENT
PHYSICAL PROTECTION
REAL TIME SYSTEMS
SAFEGUARDS
STORAGE
SURVEILLANCE
WESTERN EUROPE