U.S.-China Cooperation on Nondestructive Assay (NDA) Methods and Techniques: One Element of the Integrated Nuclear Safeguards and Security Workshop

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the China Atomic Energy Authority (CAEA) collaborated to support an Integrated Nuclear Safeguards and Security (INSS) workshop between the U.S. and China. The INSS workshop promoted the development of a regulatory infrastructure for, and the implementation of, best practices for nuclear material protection, control, and accountability as well as the development of international safeguards to strengthen the safeguards capability of China. As part of the INSS workshop, NNSA and CAEA conducted a series of comprehensive NDA workshops in China and the U.S. from October 9 through November 3, 2006. More than 36 Chinese participants from various organizations and nuclear facilities attended the first of the NDA workshops, from October 9 to 13, at the CIAE in Beijing. This workshop included fundamental NDA measurement principles, techniques, and instruments, as well as their implementation in the nuclear fuel cycle, process holdup, wastes, and unattended remote monitoring systems supporting both domestic and international safeguards. We performed laboratory demonstrations and exercises comprising uranium enrichment measurements, plutonium isotopic analysis, neutron coincidence counting, and holdup measurements. After the Beijing workshop, seven selected Chinese technical experts traveled to LANL from October 17 to 24 to extend their fundamental NDA knowledge and measurement experience. The LANL workshop included lectures and state-of-the-art laboratory exercises using gamma-ray, neutron, and calorimeter techniques. Participants then traveled to ORNL on October 25 – 27 for extensive, hands-on training in process holdup measurements. While in Oak Ridge, from October 29 to November 1, the participants attended the International Workshop on Best Practices for Material Holdup Monitoring, sponsored by the INMM, to learn additional best practices for holdup measurements and to participate in joint discussions with experts and practitioners from various fuel-cycle facilities around the world. The workshops concluded with a technical tour of the gaseous diffusion enrichment plant in Paducah, Kentucky, on November 2 to observe how NDA measurements are conducted at an operating, civil nuclear facility in the U.S. to support domestic regulatory requirements for nuclear material control and accountability. This paper provides details on the modules, results, experiences, and lessons learned from the workshops.