Nuclear Safeguards Reporting System Requirements Specifications Necessary for Reporting under a Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement

Year
2018
Author(s)
Ronald A. Cain - Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Gary L. Hirsch - Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Abstract
States enter into safeguards agreements with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to fulfill their nuclear non-proliferation commitments. Pursuant to Article III of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), each non-nuclear weapons State party is required to conclude a Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA) with the IAEA. This agreement requires the State to provide the IAEA with correct and complete safeguards information on all source or special fissionable material whether it is being procured, processed, or used in any principal nuclear facility or is outside any such facility. Each State must develop a mechanism for collecting, capturing and reporting information about its nuclear activities to fulfill its reporting obligations to the IAEA. The IAEA provides guidance on the reporting specifics, including format, content, and timing, in General Part 10 of the Subsidiary Arrangement (Code 10). In 2017, a comprehensive review of Code 10 was completed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) with the objective of creating a system requirements specification document that provides information about software designed for reporting under comprehensive safeguards. It is targeted to computer software analysts and developers tasked with designing an accounting system to fulfill the IAEA reporting requirements. The analysis looks at the two reporting formats, fixed and labeled. It explains each report type, and it identifies, defines, and provides business rules and formatting requirements for each data field contained within the specific report. Ultimately, the document provides the foundation necessary for individuals who are experts in the development of software to understand the nuclear safeguards reporting requirements.