International target values(ITV) 2020: the role of stakeholders

The objective of nuclear material accountancy (NMA) and its keystone, material balance evaluation (MBE), is to detect and deter diversion by assessing the nuclear material balances established through the State’s systems of accounting for and control of nuclear material (SSAC) against the corresponding uncertainties and by verifying the correctness of the States’ declaration through independent measurements. The effectiveness of NMA thus strongly depends upon the quality of both the facility operator’s declarations and the inspector’s verification measurements. In order to assess and compare the quality of safeguards measurements, a set of uncertainty values for destructive analysis (DA) was proposed by the ESARDA Working Group for Destructive Analyses (WGDA), and the first values were published in 1979. The WGDA released three subsequent updates, and in 1993, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) published the ITV derived primarily from safeguards measurement data collected in nuclear fuel cycle (NFC) facilities all over the world. Two subsequent updates, progressively extending the ITV scope, were released by the IAEA in 2000 and 2010 following the same approach. In preparation for the 2020 ITV update, an IAEA-led panel discussion consisting of State and regional authorities, representatives from NFC facility operators, laboratory experts, etc. will set the scene regarding the current application of the ITV, the process to establish them and the role of international partners. Importantly, the panel discussion is intended to solicit ideas and comments from a broader stakeholder audience than that normally involved in the ITV updating process. The role of all international stakeholders in understanding the importance of ITV in safeguards and providing expertise is fundamental to warrant their quality, representativeness and achievability. The purpose of this paper is to raise international awareness about the ITV and to ensure optimal international collaboration in establishing the upcoming revision.