THE APPLICATION OF 3D LASER SCANNING TECHNIQUES FOR THE EFFICIENT SAFEGUARDING OF FAIRLY STATIC STORAGE FACILINATURAL, DEPLETED AND REPROCESSED URANIUM

3D Laser scanning techniques have been applied in the past years for different types of safeguards applications, such as the verification of the basic technical characteristics of complex nuclear installations and the verification of the identity of containers. The current paper will discuss the application of 3D laser scanning techniques to increase the efficiency of the safeguards inspections in large, but in fairly static facilities for the storage of containers with natural, depleted and reprocessed uranium. The type of material stored and the low frequency of material movements make that the concerned facilities are not considered highly strategic from a safeguards point of view. However, due to the regular but infrequent material movements, these stores cannot be easily sealed. Similarly the type of containers used as well as their handling and storage methods do not allow sealing of the individual containers. Given the huge number of containers stored and the impossibility to seal neither stores nor containers these facilities are subject to an important physical verification effort during the annual or intermediate physical verification inspections. Moreover, the physical verifications expose both inspectors and operators to a non negligible dose uptake. The 3D laser scanning technique can be used in the described facilities to indicate areas of the store that have undergone changes since the last verification. The information provided by the 3D laser scanning technique allows a first rough verification of the operator's declarations and indicates to the inspectors which areas in the store they should focus their physical verifications. The 3D laser scanning technique has been tested on the site of AREVA NC Pierrelatte with the collaboration of the operator and the French authorities. The technique has been used on storage facilities in open air as well as in halls. The technique has been found very effective in improving the efficiency of the physical verifications and contributed to a significant reduction of the dose uptake by inspectors and plant personnel.