Safeguarding New Fuel Cycle Facilities In a Revitalized American Nuclear Program

A team of international safeguards experts and specialists were funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, NNSA Office NA-243, to consider and evaluate a spectrum of advanced options for safeguarding new fuel cycle facilities that could potentially be built in the United States. These facilities included new reprocessing facilities, transuranic (TRU) fuel fabrication plants, and a new generation of fast reactors. These facilities were considered in terms of the potential application of international safeguards under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The team evaluated the current international safeguards approach for such facilities and considered additional advanced safeguards measures to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of safeguards at these facilities in the future. The results of this study are presented, including recommendations for how these facilities could be more effectively safeguarded, if and when they are built in the United States.