OVERVIEW OF THE 2005 JOINT CHINA-US INTEGRATED NUCLEAR MATERIAL MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATION

For the past year, technical teams from the US and China have collaborated to conduct a joint program focused on technologies and methods used to perform integrated nuclear materials management. The work culminated in October 2005 in a weeklong workshop entitled “2005 Joint China-US Integrated Nuclear Material Management Technology Demonstration” (China Tech Demo) held at the China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE) in Beijing. Approximately 100 representatives from civilian nuclear facilities and research institutes throughout China attended the event, as well as government VIPs from the US and China. The US Department of Energy (DOE), in partnership with the China Atomic Energy Authority (CAEA), provided government sponsorship for the event, which was being conducted under the auspices of the DOE-CAEA Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Technology Agreement (PUNT). Experts from the CIAE and the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), and Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore, Sandia, and Oak Ridge National Laboratories provided the technical expertise for the event. The purpose of the workshop was to promote the adoption of modern security practices and technologies at civilian nuclear facilities by demonstrating established physical protection, nuclear material control and accounting, and international safeguards technologies that provide a first line of defense against theft, diversion, and sabotage of nuclear material. Technical lectures and posters were presented, as well as demonstrations of equipment used in physical security, nondestructive assay, and materials control and accountability systems. Other activities for the demonstration included joint technical work on hardware and software; system design and installation; topical workshops on vulnerability assessment of physical protection systems and nondestructive assay techniques; exchange of technical personnel; training; and site visits.