Year
2012
Abstract
The safeguards system of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is entering a new phase in which traditional approaches, such as nuclear material accountancy augmented by containment and surveillance methods are being complemented by a more holistic approach based on the collection and analysis of a broad range of information. Essential sources of information for this approach include: 1. Environmental swipe samples to verify the completeness of States’ declarations; 2. Destructive analysis of nuclear material samples for accountancy purposes to verify the correctness of declarations; and 3. Characterization of source materials (such as uranium ore concentrate and other uranium compounds) to provide additional information that may be used to strengthen the verification regime. Tools for addressing these needs are being developed at the IAEA’s Safeguards Analytical Laboratories as well as in the IAEA’s Network of Analytical Laboratories (NWAL) in Member States. The pace of development in this field is accelerating, with many new instruments, methods and facilities coming on line in the next five years. Here we present a status report on current activities and highlight some of the developing technologies.