Employing antineutrino detectors to safeguard future nuclear reactors from diversions
Abstract
The Non-Proliferation Treaty and other non-proliferation agreements are in place worldwide to ensure that nuclear material and facilities are used only for peaceful purposes. Antineutrino detectors, sensitive to reactor power and fuel changes, can complement the tools already at the disposal of international agencies to safeguard nuclear facilities and to verify the States' compliance with the agreements. Recent advancement in these detectors has made it possible to leverage them to reduce the likelihood of an undetected diversion of irradiated nuclear material. We study the sensitivity of antineutrino monitors to fuel divergence from two reactor types: a traditional light-water reactor and an advanced sodium-cooled reactor design, a likely candidate for future deployment. The analysis demonstrates that a variety of potential diversion scenarios can be detected by such a system. We outline recent developments in monitoring capabilities and discuss their potential security implications to the international community.
- Authors:
-
- Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States); Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE); USNRC
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1634098
- Report Number(s):
- INL/JOU-18-52308-Rev001
Journal ID: ISSN 2041-1723; TRN: US2201297
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC07-05ID14517; NRC-HQ-84-14-G-0058
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Nature Communications
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 10; Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 2041-1723
- Publisher:
- Nature Publishing Group
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS; 22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS; Antineutrino monitoring; reactor diversion; nonproliferation; safeguards; energy policy; nuclear fusion and fission
Citation Formats
Stewart, Christopher, Abou-Jaoude, Abdalla, and Erickson, Anna. Employing antineutrino detectors to safeguard future nuclear reactors from diversions. United States: N. p., 2019.
Web. doi:10.1038/s41467-019-11434-z.
Stewart, Christopher, Abou-Jaoude, Abdalla, & Erickson, Anna. Employing antineutrino detectors to safeguard future nuclear reactors from diversions. United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-11434-z
Stewart, Christopher, Abou-Jaoude, Abdalla, and Erickson, Anna. Tue .
"Employing antineutrino detectors to safeguard future nuclear reactors from diversions". United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-11434-z. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1634098.
@article{osti_1634098,
title = {Employing antineutrino detectors to safeguard future nuclear reactors from diversions},
author = {Stewart, Christopher and Abou-Jaoude, Abdalla and Erickson, Anna},
abstractNote = {The Non-Proliferation Treaty and other non-proliferation agreements are in place worldwide to ensure that nuclear material and facilities are used only for peaceful purposes. Antineutrino detectors, sensitive to reactor power and fuel changes, can complement the tools already at the disposal of international agencies to safeguard nuclear facilities and to verify the States' compliance with the agreements. Recent advancement in these detectors has made it possible to leverage them to reduce the likelihood of an undetected diversion of irradiated nuclear material. We study the sensitivity of antineutrino monitors to fuel divergence from two reactor types: a traditional light-water reactor and an advanced sodium-cooled reactor design, a likely candidate for future deployment. The analysis demonstrates that a variety of potential diversion scenarios can be detected by such a system. We outline recent developments in monitoring capabilities and discuss their potential security implications to the international community.},
doi = {10.1038/s41467-019-11434-z},
journal = {Nature Communications},
number = 1,
volume = 10,
place = {United States},
year = {2019},
month = {8}
}
Figures / Tables:

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Figures / Tables found in this record: