Upgrading Tamper-Indicating Device Systems at Rosatom Enterprises

A tamper indicating device (TID), used in conjunction with appropriate procedures for control, accounting and surveillance, is a front line tool used to inhibit a insider from diverting nuclear material to unauthorized individuals. The current TIDs used at Rosatom nuclear facilities consist of seals that are not uniquely identified by number or barcode. At the sixth meeting of the Joint Coordinating Committee (JCC) the need was recognized to upgrade TID systems at sites of the Federal Atomic Energy Agency (Rosatom). Such TID systems would reflect evolving requirements to provide improved material protection control and accounting (MPC&A) of nuclear material. A Russian TID working group was formed within Rosatom and given the task of implementing modern TID designs and systems at Rosatom sites. In order to upgrade TID systems at Rosatom enterprises, a series of activities plan to be undertaken that include the following: analysis of the requirements for TIDs for the various containers or objects on which TIDs will be applied; evaluation and selection of the optimum TIDs available in Russia; development of draft recommendations regarding the essential elements of effective TID systems that include modern TIDs; recommended upgrades, if necessary, of the existing regulatory base; planning the implementation of modern TID systems at Rosatom sites; evaluation of the transition and sustainability impacts in upgrading TID systems at Rosatom sites. Plans call for those measures to be undertaken within the framework of a joint U.S. DOE and Rosatom project in the next two years. The implementation of this project will create the requisite organizational and technical conditions for large-scale introduction of state-of-the-art TIDs at Rosatom facilities.