U.S. Support Program Contributions to the Implementation of IAEA Safeguards

Member State Support Programs (MSSPs) have assisted the IAEA Department of Safeguards by developing new safeguards technologies and techniques for the IAEA’s use. This support enables the IAEA to keep pace with an expanding portfolio that includes an increased number and variety of facilities and quantity of nuclear materials under safeguards. The U.S. Support Program to IAEA Safeguards (USSP) has provided technical assistance to the IAEA Department of Safeguards since 1977. To meet the demands placed on the IAEA, the USSP directs its resources to the needs and challenges identified by the IAEA. For example, in the mid-1990s, the USSP assisted the IAEA with the exploration of new technical safeguards measures identified by the Secretariat in its Programme 93+2. The USSP focused on environmental sampling, remote monitoring, and open source information collection and analysis for safeguards applications and the enhancement of training for IAEA inspectors. As the IAEA’s experience with these new safeguards measures matured and they were implemented for safeguards purposes, the USSP worked with the IAEA and other MSSPs to determine how the traditional and new measures could be appropriately combined to ensure that safeguards remain effective and efficient. More recently, USSP projects have focused on the development of safeguards instrumentation, the collection and analysis of various forms of open source information, and the improvement of infrastructure. This paper will summarize a variety of USSP activities in support of the Department of Safeguards over the last 20 years.