An Overview of the 16th US-IAEA “State Systems of Accounting for and Control of Nuclear Materials” Course

Proper accounting and control methodologies are critical components of a state’s international safeguards obligations. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in partnership with the U.S. Department of State (DOS) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), co-sponsored a State Systems of Accounting for and Control of Nuclear Materials (SSAC) training program in May of 2007 to address these concerns. This two-week program was held at the University of Missouri Research Reactor Center (MURR) and on the campus of the University of Missouri in Columbia. The training course included lectures, practical examples of accounting issues in a facility that produces large quantities of medical and industrial isotopes, and hands-on work at the reactor center with detection equipment and in the analytical laboratories. The class also included extensive work at MURR when the reactor was both operational and during a planned, half-day maintenance outage. The course allowed an international group of professionals to interact, share best practices and learn how to effectively apply IAEA standards to their facilities.