PROGRESS ON A NEXT-GENERATION ATTRIBUTE MEASUREMENT SYSTEM

Year
2006
Author(s)
Morag Smith - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Pete Karpius - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Duc T. Vo - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Jonathan L. Thron - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Kate Frame - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Richard Williams - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Dave Bracken - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Tim Elmont - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Jason Shergur - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Duncan W. MacArthur - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Abstract
The Nuclear Nonproliferation Division at LANL is developing a \"next generation\" attribute measurement system (AMS). [1, 6] In general, systems like the AMS are to be used in various nonproliferation treaties and agreements to provide assurance that the plutonium is as declared, without revealing any sensitive information. The AMS incorporates existing gamma and neutron detectors, but with newly designed information processing components. The approach taken emphasizes the use of commercial, widely available equipment and software. [2] It includes measurements of the plutonium isotopic composition, mass, and age (time since americium separation) of the material. The overall approach taken by the design team will be discussed along with a review of the current status of the project.