The Additional Protocol Declaration Helper: A Software Tool to Help Determine What Must be Declared to the IAEA

Compiling, updating, preparing, reviewing, and submitting Additional Protocol (AP), Article 2 declarations is straightforward, but experience to date has shown that significant effort can be expended in simply determining if an activity or location meets the definition of declarability. The situation is understandable considering the need to combine both a comprehensive knowledge of the AP and its requirements with an intimate technical understanding of the activity/location being evaluated. That is, on many occasions, the individual most knowledgeable of the technical aspects of the item under consideration is, at best, only vaguely aware of the AP. A tool or method that provides an up-front assessment of activities and locations to determine declarability can improve the efficiency of the declaration process and has the capability to improve the quality as well. The Additional Protocol Declaration Helper was developed by the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) as an open, publicly accessible software tool to assist member states who have entered the AP into force and have the obligation of identifying nuclear-related activities declarable under the AP. Using simple questionnaires, the AP Declaration Helper guides the user through the basic declaration decision process without requiring detailed knowledge of the AP. With the AP Declaration Helper, a user who is only familiar with the technical information of a nuclear-related activity/location can make a preliminary determination of declarability. Once that determination has been made, the user has the option of following up with the appropriate AP authority to properly address the requirement.