DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES FOR IAEA SAFGUARDS AT THE KAMS FACILITY

Disruptive technologies alter the status quo. They are disruptive because they bring change. They are intended to bring beneficial changes to the way business is conducted, work is performed, and information is communicated. They bring timely (a relative term) information to those who need it. They ease, not impede, the flow of information. In the fall of 2002, the K Area Material Storage (KAMS) Facility at the Savannah River Site (SRS) placed approximately one metric ton (MT) of plutonium oxide under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Safeguards. In doing so, a secretarial commitment was met, and disrupted technologies were implemented. It is the intent of this paper to describe those technologies, issues with implementation and performance, and how the business of safeguards has changed. The paper goes further and proposes additional steps that can be taken to future advance the safeguards approach.