IMMUNITY TESTING and EMISSION MEASUREMENTS of SAFEGUARDS EQUIPMENT

The quantity and diversity of Safeguards equipment and devices has increased in recent years to include seals, tags, surveillance systems and measurement instruments. These instruments are more and more sophisticated and accurate. Their operating environments subject them to a wide range of stresses; such as temperature, humidity, mechanical shocks and vibrations, and electromagnetic perturbations; which may affect their performance and reliability. The Joint Research Centre of the European Commission at Ispra (Italy) has set up an EN 45001 (ISO 17025) accredited test laboratory called TEMPEST (for Thermal Electromagnetic and Physical Equipment Stress Testing). This laboratory (intensively used by the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna and by the Euratom Safeguards Office in Luxembourg) defines, implements, and executes test procedures (in support to E.S.O. and I.A.E.A.) to evaluate the immunity of Safeguards equipment, in terms of performance and reliability, to the various stresses described above. The laboratory measures electromagnetic emission levels (conducted and radiated) of these devices to check their conformity to international standards . The TEMPEST laboratory uses instrumentation for measuring in-field electromagnetic environments with the aim of reproducing observed conditions in laboratory tests of the immunity of the devices. This paper describes the testing and measurement possibilities offered by this facility as related to the equipment life cycle, international tests and emission standards. Examples of tests and results in terms of reliability and performance of Safeguards equipment are also presented