Nuclear Material Accounting System at Global Nuclear Fuel

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) provides rules regarding nuclear material transfers and nuclear material recordkeeping for LEU fabrication facilities in the code of federal regulations, 10 CFR 74.15 and 10 CFR 74.31. Each licensed facility who is authorized to possess and use more than one effective kilogram of special nuclear material of low strategic significance, excluding sealed sources, or operations involved in waste disposal, implements and maintains a Commission approved nuclear material control and accounting system. The facility nuclear material control and accountability (NMC&A) system is described in their Commission approved fundamental nuclear material control (FNMC) plan. The Nuclear Material Accounting System (NUMAS) designed and implemented at Global Nuclear Fuel, Wilmington, North Carolina, meets NRC NMC&A nuclear material transfers and recordkeeping requirements and achieves real time accountability through a one time data entry system. The system utilizes Oracle database tables that are populated with data pertaining to the receipt of items, processing and tracking the uranium in its various material forms, the shipment of items, and measured discards associated with the manufacturing process. Foreign Obligation balances of nuclear materials are maintained by NUMAS as the material is received or shipped but are not associated with individual items in process. NMC&A staff at GNF exclusively input receipt and shipment information into NUMAS through the use of Oracle forms. Shipper/receiver differences (SRD) are computed by the system for receipts by applying the GNF scale weights to the independent laboratory element and isotope assays and comparing that value to the shipper’s value. The SRD is not considered significant if it does not exceed both twice the combined measurement standard error for that shipment and 500 grams of U235. The manufacturing operators in the processing facility interact with the system and maintain real time accountability through the use of PC client workstations installed at the operations. Every item that is created or consumed is tracked through use of barcodes and specialized forms on the computer workstations. NUMAS brings flexibility and direct access to data for the purpose of meeting customer needs, NRC regulatory requirements, and for internal nuclear material transfer information. The system also supports the major digitization initiatives implemented throughout the General Electric Company. In summary, NUMAS was designed to assure that Safeguards requirements are met and to provide the technical staff with a means to readily access needed information on demand in an efficient manner.