PERFORMANCE TESTING OF ACCOUNTABILITY MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS USING INVENTORY VERIFICATION SAMPLES

The New Brunswick Laboratory (NBL) provides assessment support to DOE Operations Offices for Material Control and Accountability (MC&A). During MC&A surveys of the facilities, the Operations Offices require performance testing to assure satisfactory compliance with the DOE Orders. NBL has developed performance tests for accountability measurement systems and assists the Operations Offices by providing the technical expertise to perform these tests at facilities. These tests use traceable standard materials to evaluate the performance of the measurement systems. These tests do not evaluate the ability of the facility to measure actual material present in their inventories. NBL has developed a new performance test, which uses sample splits of inventory verification samples, to evaluate the ability of the facility to perform accountability measurements on real materials which contain impurities that may cause interferences. Inventory verification samples, selected on a graded safeguards basis, are collected by facility personnel under the observation of NBL or other survey team members. The samples are then split and submitted for analysis to both the facility laboratory and to NBL. The results of the analyses are compared statistically and any accountability measurement problems on real inventory items are identified.