Year
2015
Abstract
When a State is considering building a new facility it is advantageous to consult the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regarding safeguards considerations early in the discussion, and throughout the design and construction phases. This ‘safeguards- by-design’ dialogue provides an opportunity for all parties to have ongoing discussions on possible safeguards measures as the design of the facility progresses. The safeguards approach and related procedures can then be developed with facility operator and Safeguards Regulatory Authority (SRA) input. Canada has a success story to share on the application of safeguards-by-design on a project to construct a new building for long term storage of spent nuclear fuel on the Chalk River Laboratory site. This paper will describe the process as it relates to early discussions at the conceptual stage, ongoing discussions during the construction phase, and current discussions now that the facility is ready to start operating. With discussions starting early in the conceptual stage, the operator was able to incorporate the required design changes at no cost to the IAEA. The operator was also able to meet the project’s milestones as the safeguards requirements were developed as the project progressed. Further detail will be provided on the nature of the proactive collaboration and open communication among all three parties, which allowed for the development of a robust safeguards approach to cover the following three processes: the transfer of the fuel to the facility; the repackaging of fuel within the facility; and the final end state of static dry storage. Finally, the paper will touch on some of the challenges that came with the process and will describe how these were resolved.