The Role of NMMSS in the Application of International Safeguards for the United States

In 1980, the Agreement between the United States (US) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) established the requirement for the US to report to the IAEA nuclear material subject to the Agreement. The Nuclear Materials Management and Safeguards System (NMMSS) is the U.S. Government’s information system containing data on the possession and shipment of nuclear materials. The Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory Commission relies on NMMSS to generate reports to fulfill the U. S. Government’s commitments to the IAEA. Pursuant to the US/IAEA, the United States agrees to: Report to the IAEA all shipments and receipts of source or special fissionable material to a Non-Nuclear Weapons State (NNWS) for peaceful purposes as well as domestic use of nuclear material at facilities selected by the IAEA. To fulfill these reporting requirements the United States negotiated and implemented reporting activities as specified in the Subsidiary Arrangement to the US/IAEA Agreement. INFCIRC/288: “Agreement Between the United States of America and the International Atomic Energy Agency for the Application of Safeguards in the United States of America.” There are four major report types generated by the NMMSS and supplied to the IAEA. The first two reports are the Inventory Change Report (ICR) and Concise Note Report (CN) which are generated on a monthly basis for all activity meeting the reporting requirements for selected facilities and the import of civilian nuclear material. Monthly reports are required to be dispatched to the Agency on or before the 30th day of the end of the month in which the event occurred. The other two reports are the Physical Inventory Listing Report (PIL) and Material Balance Report (MBR) which are generated periodically (usually annually) for facilities selected by the IAEA. These reports are required to be dispatched to the Agency on or before the 30th day of the PIL/MBR closing date.