Mapping and Evaluation of Technologies for Maintaining Chain of Custody during a Nuclear Weapons Monitored Dismantlement

During fiscal year 2015, Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) led a team of Arms Control and technology development subject matter experts in a Chain of Custody (CoC) Technology Mapping and Evaluation project. The team was comprised of experts from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), the Pantex Plant, Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), and Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL). Experts from the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) of the United Kingdom (UK) also contributed. The primary task of the project was to develop and evaluate chain of custody regimes for monitoring a notional nuclear warhead dismantlement given three technology constraint cases: using only equipment approved for use in the START and New START Treaties; using equipment that is currently fieldable; and using equipment that is expected to be fieldable within the next 5 years. General frameworks for both the dismantlement process and the chain of custody process were developed. Equipment and procedures were integrated into these frameworks to develop a monitoring regime for each constraint case. The project team attempted to optimize the regime for each constraint case given the limited tool kits permitted, and given the need to balance verification requirements with issues of certification, cost, and operational impact. Each regime was assessed against specific criteria. The assessment criteria were developed by the team with input from other experts in different stakeholder communities. Regime strengths, weaknesses and gaps were identified to inform the development of each subsequent regime. The weaknesses and gaps identified are being used to inform decisions by the NNSA’s Office of Nuclear Verification (NA-243) on future technology development needs.