The Role of the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute (MEPhI) in the Implementation of the MPC&A Operations Monitoring Project in Russia

The Material Protection, Control and Accounting (MPC&A) Program has been working since 1994 with nuclear sites in Russia to upgrade the physical protection (PP) and material control and accounting (MC&A) functions at facilities containing weapons usable nuclear material. In early 2001 the MPC&A program initiated the MPC&A Operations Monitoring (MOM) Project to monitor facilities with completed MPC&A upgrades to provide increased confidence that personnel are present and vigilant, provide confidence that security procedures are being properly performed and provide additional assurance that nuclear materials are not stolen. The MOM Project began as a pilot project at the Moscow State Engineering Physics Institute (MEPhI) in June of 2001. The MOM system was successfully installed at MEPhI in October of 2001. Following the success of the MEPhI pilot project, the MPC&A Program expanded the installation of MOM systems to other Russian facilities. During this expansion MEPhI continued to provide support to the MOM Project in a number of ways. First, the operating system at MEPhI is used to demonstrate the capabilities of the MOM system to interested personnel from nuclear facilities in Russia. In addition, all MOM equipment is initially stored at MEPhI and inspected by technical experts prior to being installed in other Russian facilities. A trained team of technical experts from MEPhI supports the MOM Project during the design and installation of the systems in Russian facilities. MEPhI also participates in the training of facility personnel after the systems are installed. Finally, a number of the MOM systems installed in Russia have operated beyond the one-year manufacturer’s warranty. The MOM Project uses technical experts from MEPhI to provide extended service and maintenance for some of these facilities. The long-term objective of the MOM Project is to ensure sustainability of the MOM systems by encouraging the Russians to manufacture, design, install, maintain and utilize the systems. The technical experts at MEPhI are an important component in achieving this objective.