SAFEGUARDS BY DESIGN – AN INDUSTRIAL VIEW

The Nuclear Renaissance is best defined as new or renewed interest in nuclear energy as a sustainable, carbon emission free component of a nation’s energy portfolio. Aside from the benefits of a ‘green’ alternative, the expanded use of nuclear energy has prompted the international non-proliferation community to evaluate how its expanded use can be effectively and efficiently safeguarded. One concept under the name ‘Safeguards By Design’ aims at the efficient use of limited safeguards resources, facilitate authorities, designer and operators to create a “Safeguard standard” and optimize financials. The International Atomic Energy Agency would work with installation designers to facilitate the implementation of safeguards throughout the design and construction phases. The international non-proliferation community has picked up the discussion and the nuclear industry is ready to contribute by evaluating if a broader, synergetic engineering approach of a holistic design concept can be developed that would consider provisions for safety and security of new nuclear facilities. Especially, a broader approach that would involve additional stakeholders and regulatory authorities can only be realized if it is supported by the designers and engineers on the industry side. The following paper will outline the background of Safeguards By Design and how the comprehensive concept of Safety, Security, and Safeguards By Design (3SBD) was developed. It will then address the expected synergies lying in a multi-user approach to instrumentation and highlight the potential advantages for day-to-day operation of installations. An overview on the expected challenges, ranging from sensitivity concerns on the operator side to fostering a safeguards culture on the designer side will follow. Finally, we will sketch an opinion on the best way for the industry to interact with the various stakeholders to initiate a 3SBD project to pave the way for effective and efficient safeguards implementation.