Year
2000
Abstract
The full-day session of the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management 41st Annual Meeting unfolded in two parts with different formats. In the morning component of this session, invited speakers made 15- to 20-minute presentations on the broad topic, “Application of Uncertainty Principles to the Field of Safeguards.” The invited speakers represented nuclear reference materials safeguards laboratories in several countries. In the afternoon, participants addressed this topic in depth, guided by discussion leaders. The session topic provided a common ground for discussions among representatives from safeguards laboratories in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States. Representatives from all countries were welcome to participate in the discussions. Consequently, these discussions took on a broadened global perspective. The session always takes an approach that is scientific and non-political. Drawing on knowledge gained from years of work in the nuclear community, speakers and discussants presented their laboratories’ strategies for the application of uncertainty principles to safeguards measurements. For example, some focused on uncertainty estimation of non-destructive analysis techniques, or traceability and uncertainty, while others focused on the application of measurement evaluation program information to the determination of the uncertainty of safeguards measurements. The overall topic of this session was broad enough to encompass a diversity of relevant sub-topics, which were presented by the speakers and discussed at length. At the end of the day, designated participants developed a white paper on the session topic. Activities of this type facilitate continued interactions of the participants and foster collaborations and open dialogue.