Year
2007
Abstract
The application of safeguards at Natural Uranium Conversion Plants (NUCP) has been traditionally based on the definition of the starting point of safeguards. Recently, there has been an increase interest in monitoring more points in the Uranium Conversion Plants to guarantee that all nuclear material produced by these plants are under safeguards. To strength the safeguards applied to conversion plants, the IAEA has proposed a number of new safeguards measures that can be summarized in the IAEA Policy Paper 18th. In this Policy Paper an extensive consideration was done to the Nuclear Material suitable for enrichment and Fuel fabrication and a number of different diversion paths were analyzed. Under the ABACC/IAEA system, the conversion plants for Brazil and Argentina have different process routes and the Quadripartite Agreement defines precisely where are the starting points of the safeguards and the requirements for any changes on these definitions. Some new measures proposed by the Policy Paper 18th are beyond the legal framework of the Quadripartite Agreement and sometimes may conduct to an additional inspection effort expended by the agencies and Operators, without having a profitable return. Taking into consideration the necessity of strengthening the safeguards applied to these plants of the fuel cycle front end, ABACC, IAEA and National Authorities are discussing new alternatives measures to be applied to these Conversion Plants keeping the constraints and legal frames of the Quadripartite Agreement. This paper presents a brief process description for the conversion plants within the ABACC system, makes considerations on the broad definition of starting point of safeguards based on new process technologies and their changes, and discusses the new measures proposed in order to strength the safeguards currently applied to the plants under the ABACC system, regarding their capacities, with the objective to improve the certainty that all pure nuclear material produced are under safeguards. The paper also discusses the effectiveness of having full accountancy and verification of the raw U3O8 material (Yellow Cake) that feed these plants.