ITEM MONITORING AT THE Y-12 NATIONAL SECURITY COMPLEX

Y-12's Item Monitoring program was implemented in early 2007 for one of the main processing areas. The implementation was in conjunction with various improvements in the existing Process Monitoring program and the Safeguards First Principles Initiative (SFPI) activities. A review of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Item Monitoring program was performed to provide direction and insight for the development of the program. The opportunity presented itself to develop the appropriate program to integrate with the other safeguards systems at the site and best meet the needs of Y-12. The NRC outlines requirements for its Item Monitoring plan in document 10 CFR 74.55 Item Monitoring. Both Y-12 and NRC sites have a plan based on a statistical sampled population of SNM, with days to reconcile dependent on the category of the items. Our program is in its infancy and we feel sure that as we proceed with the SFPI test-bed, improvements will be made to ensure an effective methodology is used for Item Monitoring at Y-12.