Nuclear Safeguards 3He Replacement Requirements

One pressing research and development challenge currently facingthe nuclear safeguards community is finding an alternative to3He gas for neutron detection. The high demand for 3He gas forseveral scientific and global security applications has exceeded thegas supply.1 This has resulted in the depletion of 3He stockpilesand consequent shortfall in the availability of 3He for conventionalneutron detection. As part of finding a viable 3He replacementneutron detection technology for safeguards use, performancerequirements specific to safeguards applications must be defined.This article discusses the main detector performance parametersthat form nuclear safeguards 3He replacement requirements andprovides recommended values for these parameters based on experiencewith traditional safeguards neutron coincidence countingapplications. A 3He replacement detector test program hasbeen established at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)2 forthe evaluation of 3He alternative neutron detection technologiesagainst safeguards-specific performance parameters. Here, theunique features of the LANL test program are also highlighted.