NUCLEAR SAFEGUARDS INFRASTRUCTURE REQUIRED FOR THE NEXT GENERATION NUCLEAR PLANT (NGNP)

The Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) is a Very High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (VHTR) to be built near Idaho Falls, Idaho, with startup planned for 2021. The VHTR and other High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactors (HTGR) are intrinsically safer than current generations of Light Water Reactors (LWR) and are effectively meltdown proof. This is more prominent in the minds of the public and governing officials, following the LWR meltdown accidents in Fukushima, Japan. The authors propose that the NGNP be designed to accommodate international nuclear safeguards, as implemented by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This would allow the NGNP/VHTR design to be more easily exported to Non-Nuclear-Weapons States. In the following paper, the authors identify the infrastructure required for the IAEA to implement nuclear safeguards at the NGNP and related VHTR/HTGR. This infrastructure is based on safeguards equipment, systems, and practices as currently implemented by the IAEA. Development needs are also highlighted to support the requisite safeguards infrastructure. The authors have formerly worked for the IAEA and are experts in the field of international nuclear safeguards.