Year
2011
Abstract
To prepare for the expanded use of nuclear energy, industrial suppliers of nuclear instrumentation, domestic and international safeguards bodies, as well as facility operators have a common interest in designing new facilities so that the impact of safeguards is minimized while continuously assuring that international safeguards remain fully effective. At the same time, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards system is evolving to ensure a more effective and efficient application of its resources via integrated safeguards approaches. The IAEA and other authorities are reaching out to engage the nuclear industry to determine how features that would facilitate meeting the IAEA safeguards goals can be incorporated during the design stage of facilities rather than back-fitting after a facility has been licensed for operation. This initiative referred to as Safeguards by Design may offer the potential for synergies between the safeguards goals and facility operator activities but requires the implementation of innovative technologies, solutions, and concepts. It is therefore today subject of assessment studies what and how Safeguards by Design may contribute to furthering the effectiveness and efficiency of international safeguards. A major challenge relates to the instrumentation of nuclear facilities and to make available technologies and building blocks that can be framed in a global architecture and that is specifically designed to meet both operational and safeguards requirements. Implementation of Safeguards by Design with support from the nuclear industry requires the development of feature and performance requirements that reflect domestic and international safeguards needs for each type of facility. Furthermore, requirements should be elaborated coherently with advanced vision of safeguards implementation such as remote inspection and information driven safeguards. The development of standardized instrumentation building blocks that support flexible implementation and minimize operation costs is anticipated to be a crucial component of the concept. Initiating pilot projects to push forward prototyping representative technical solutions would support the assessment of Safeguards by Design claims and allow for a smoother implementation of the Safeguard By Design concept if found to be truly bringing significant added value to international safeguards. The following paper will outline the background of Safeguards by Design and address more specifically the fundamental instrumentation technologies, Building Blocks, and architectural choices that, if taken into account at an early design stage, will support cost effective and efficient implementation of both domestic and international safeguards.