CURRENT STATUS OF INPRO METHODOLOGY FOR EVALUATING PROLIFERATION RESISTANCE

The international Project on Innovative Nuclear Reactors and Fuel Cycles (INPRO) has developed an assessment methodology, which covers holistically all facilities of a nuclear energy system during their life time, and all associated institutional measures. The results in several areas, including proliferation resistance, were published in October 2007. Currently three activities are ongoing for improvement of the methodology in proliferation resistance. The first one is a review of the results of national assessment studies using the INPRO methodology. Six assessment studies have been performed by individual countries plus one assessment study with international participation of eight countries. The workshop for reviewing feedback and proposals from these national assessment studies was organized in Vienna in February 2009. The second activity is an INPRO Collaborative Project called PRADA (Proliferation Resistance: Acquisition/Diversion Pathway Analysis), focusing on the methodology for evaluating INPRO User Requirement 4 regarding multiplicity and robustness of barriers against proliferation covering each acquisition path. PRADA intends to develop appropriate methods for the identification and analysis of high-level pathways for the acquisition of fissile material for a nuclear weapons program, and make recommendations for evaluating multiplicity and robustness of barriers along each pathway against proliferation. PRADA is based on a case study of the DUPIC fuel cycle (Figure 1) conducted by the Republic of Korea. Four consultancy meetings were held in 2007-2009. The third activity is the continuous efforts together with the Generation IV International Forum (GIF) working group on proliferation resistance and physical protection in order to address compatibility and use of the both GIF and INPRO methodologies in this area. The above-mentioned activities are all underway and contents publically available documentation is currently limited. However, future direction of the INPRO methodology is of current interest of stakeholders including technology holders and designers. Current statuses in these activities are reported.