INMM ACCREDITED STANDARDS COMMITTEE N15 DEVELOPMENTS AND ACTIVITIES

Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) N15, Methods of Nuclear Material Control, is sponsored by the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management (INMM) to develop standards for protection, control and accounting of special nuclear materials in all phases of the nuclear fuel cycle, including analytical procedures where necessary and special to this purpose, except that physical protection of special nuclear material within a nuclear power plant is not included. N15 is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and complies with ANSI requirements. The N15 standards development process is open to all materially-affected and interested parties and includes: review and approval by a balanced consensus body; public review of standards approved by the consensus body; written response to all comments received during consensus body and public review; and an appeals process to protect the interests of directly and materially affected stakeholders and standards developing organizations. INMM ASC N15 standards development activities are discussed. The activities of all standards developing organizations are driven by the interests of its members and their willingness to discuss and come to consensus regarding the desirable functions, features, or performance of products, processes, services, or systems. The N15 officers ask U.S. physical protection and nuclear material control and accounting professionals to consider whether they have needs for voluntary consensus standards, and if so, to participate in the N15 standards development process.