MAKING AN “IMPACT” ON MODERNIZING NUCLEAR MATERIALS SAFEGUARDS AND SECURITY

Protection of Nuclear Material in today's threat environment requires intelligent integration, data analysis and communication from all available information systems including security, safety, materials control and accountability and facility operations. A protection system must be transparent to nuclear material operators so they can safely and efficiently perform day-to-day operations while maintaining secure nuclear material monitoring in a cost-effective manner. The Department of Energy is calling for deployment of modernized and integrated nuclear materials protection systems at its facilities. Los Alamos National Lab in conjunction with Oak Ridge National Lab developed and demonstrated an example of one of these intelligent, integrated systems at the LANL TA-35 radiological source handling area. We call these Integrated Materials Protection, Accountability and Control Technologies systems or IMPACT systems. The particular IMPACT example demonstrated in August 2005 included several diverse technologies integrated through one data communications architecture to a response rules decision based engine which provided alarms, alerts, data display and forensic data analysis capabilities. IMPACT systems are based on \"plug and play\" functionality and expandability and other elements or sensors can be added easily. The elements demonstrated in August could be interchanged with other technologies. Ultimately, for a protection strategy to work, the particular type of IMPACT system fielded at each location must be flexible and adaptable to the individual sites and their needs. Included in this particular IMPACT system example were 15 elements, about half of which were commercially available off-the-shelf technologies that were easily integrated: XML Integrating Data Architecture, Commercial Response Rules engine, LANMASS accountability system, a Plan of the Day electronic interface, Material Check Out Stations, an Iris Recognition System, Reflectoactive™ Seals, Video and Camera Surveillance, Portal Monitoring, Inventory/Confirmatory Cart, Door Switches, a Hallway Radiation Monitoring and Tracking System, Real-time Real-world Information Displays, Virtual Reality Laboratory Training and Observation system, and a nuclear material inventory performed with a PC tablet.