Use of Reference Materials for Quality Control of Nuclear Material Safeguards Analysis

The IAEA Safeguards Analytical Laboratory (SAL) represents an important part of the IAEA Safeguards system by providing analytical and other laboratory services. It is essential therefore, that the SAL ensures the reliability of its analytical results. This assurance is based upon a robust quality control (QC) system which is already well established at SAL. The QC system consists of several steps; e.g., calibration, replicate measurements, measurement of control/reference materials, participation in external measurement QC (analytical measurement evaluation programs) and duplicate confirmation analysis by Network of Analytical Laboratories (NWAL). Among these, QC activities, both internal and external, using well characterized reference materials play a particularly important role and demonstrate the credibility of SAL’s, and the IAEA-NWAL’s, analytical services. It is essential that internally and externally produced reference materials are both available and processed regularly, in parallel with the samples, to monitor the characteristics and the quality of the analytical procedures. Appropriate resources must be made available to produce the necessary reference materials, including primary source materials, well characterized QC materials and certified tracers. Nevertheless the availability of such nuclear reference materials is becoming more difficult. The IAEA periodically organises Consultants’ Group Meetings (CGM), focusing on the subject of nuclear reference materials, bringing together both users and suppliers in order to exchange experiences and problems and to update the needs in this area. Based on the reference materials used at SAL and the IAEA-NWAL, this paper will demonstrate the SAL’s quality control system and discuss the needs and availability of the reference nuclear materials resulting from the latest CGM, held in February 2002.