The Development and Implementation of NDA Equipment at the IAEA

With the implementation of the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) in the 1960s, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) needed the technical capability to independently verify the declared inventories of nuclear materials in the signatory countries. This requirement led to the development of technology that included an array of nondestructive assay (NDA) instrumentation that has continued to progress to the present day. During the forty years of development, NDA has evolved to keep pace with the improvements in sensors and electronics as well as the changing requirement of the nuclear materials and facilities. The initial NDA effort focused on portable equipment that could be transported from Vienna to sites around the world for inspectors to use in the field. Key requirements for the equipment were simplicity and robustness to accommodate the training, transport, and use. Inspectors were expected to be qualified for field use of the large array of NDA equipment that included gamma-ray, neutron, and optical systems. This requirement necessitated the development of a substantial training effort in Vienna and in the Member State Support Programs (MSSP). There has been a continuing need for the training programs because of the turnover of the inspector staff and the changes in the technical requirements and equipment.