Safeguards Options for Natural Uranium Conversion Facilities ? A Collaborative Effort between the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Nuclear Energy Commission of Brazil (CNEN)
- ORNL
In 2005, the National Nuclear Energy Commission of Brazil (CNEN) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) agreed on a collaborative effort to evaluate measures that can strengthen the effectiveness of international safeguards at a natural uranium conversion plant (NUCP). The work was performed by DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and CNEN. A generic model of an NUCP was developed and typical processing steps were defined. The study, completed in early 2007, identified potential safeguards measures and evaluated their effectiveness and impacts on operations. In addition, advanced instrumentation and techniques for verification purposes were identified and investigated. The scope of the work was framed by the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA's) 2003 revised policy concerning the starting point of safeguards at uranium conversion facilities. Before this policy, only the final products of the uranium conversion plant were considered to be of composition and purity suitable for use in the nuclear fuel cycle and, therefore, subject to AEA safeguards control. DOE and CNEN have explored options for implementing the IAEA policy, although Brazil understands that the new policy established by the IAEA is beyond the framework of the Quadripartite Agreement of which it is one of the parties, together with Argentina, the Brazilian-Argentine Agency for Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials, and the IAEA. This paper highlights the findings of this joint collaborative effort and identifies technical measures to strengthen international safeguards in NUCPs.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC05-00OR22725
- OSTI ID:
- 950797
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: INMM 49th Annual Meeting, Nashville, TN, USA, 20080713, 20080717
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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