MPC&A Upgrades at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna, Russia

Staff from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratory have been working with leaders at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, Russia to create a self-sustaining Materials Protection, Control and Accounting program at JINR. This work has been ongoing since May of 1996 and a site commissioning ceremony was held in February, 1998 to mark the completion of the upgrades and the beginning of a multiyear sustainability program. JINR operates two research reactors and thus has a requirement for storing both fresh and spent nuclear fuel. The MPC&A upgrades at JINR have been in the following categories: 1) physical protection improvements for the Central Storage Facility; 2) relocation and physical protection improvements at the Central Alarm Station; 3) implementation of a site-wide radiocommunications system; 4) access control upgrades at the main entrance to JINR; 5) development and incorporation of a computerized materials control and accounting system; 6) development of a physical inventory taking and a tamper indicating program; and 7) creation and implementation of a sustainability program involving operating procedures, training, preventative maintenance, self-assessment and outreach to other sites.