Year
2007
Abstract
Since released in 2004, Holdup Measurement System 4 (HMS4) software has been in use at facilities to systematically measure and verify quantities of uranium holdup in process facilities under safeguards. The software provides a system for measuring uranium and plutonium and archiving holdup data. This capability is essential to provide proper accountancy of residual special nuclear material in internationally safeguarded facilities. Additionally, HMS4 has been tested by sites in Russia, the United States, South Africa, and China in order to develop methods for more-effective application. An updated version of the software incorporating comments and lessons learned would enable the international partners to use a wider variety of commercial equipment existing at these facilities. In June 2005, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Los Alamos National Laboratory conducted a holdup measurement training course on HMS4 for subject matter experts from the Ulba Metallurgical Facility at Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan. The training included an additional external software package for improved measurements of low-enriched uranium (LEU) using higher-energy gamma rays that more easily penetrate the walls of equipment in which LEU may reside. It would be very beneficial to integrate this application in the next-generation HMS software package (HMS-5). This software system upgrade will provide the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) with a holdup measurement system. Currently, HMS4 supports only AMETEK/ORTEC equipment. This limits the applicability of HMS4 because many facilities utilize Canberra Industries technology [detectors, multichannel analyzers (MCAs), and other hardware and software packages]. Utilization of other vendor technologies must be integrated into the system for HMS-5 to support all available hardware systems to provide a boarder range of applicability to the needs of international partners and the IAEA. Furthermore, newly developed hardware, such as lanthanum halide detectors and digital signal processing MCAs, will be incorporated into the new HMS-5 system to accommodate the evolving realm of special nuclear material detection and quantification. HMS-5 will progress from the previous versions of automated special nuclear material holdup measurement systems for process facilities. ORNL is leading this next-generation system with assistance from its foreign partners and past experiences of its Safeguards Laboratory staff.