Year
2001
Abstract
Euratom Safeguards has a long experience in the development of specialised instrumentation and the utilisation of commercially available equipment. It is well known that the market for specially developed equipment is very limited in volume so high development costs have to be absorbed by the companies or the research centres or amortised through a very limited number of units. The purpose of this paper is to examine the trend away from specific instrument development and the attendant development with write off costs towards the wider utilisation of commercially available equipment either modified or not for safeguards purposes. The number of small and medium size companies prepared to manufacture or supply specialised instrumentation for such a small market is very limited and diminishing, as there are usually no significant follow-up orders. The experience of Euratom in using the open market has demonstrated that an analysis of the detailed specifications derived from user requirements for a particular device or equipment may reveal that there already exists a potentially suitable system on the commercial market. The reasons that safeguards authorities should consider commercially available equipment include the needs for operational stability, reduction of equipment cost, continued maintenance possibilities, and the mutual interest in improvements to a particular piece of equipment.