Use of Tamper-Indicating Devices in Hot Cells

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, is a Safeguards Category III Site which uses nuclear materials in a variety of tasks in support of authorized Department of Energy (DOE) programs. The bulk of ORNL’s special nuclear material (SNM) is in storage. The primary active use of SNM at ORNL is for fueling the High Flux Isotope Reactor. ORNL also uses numerous small quantities of nuclear materials for research samples and standards in support of a multitude of research experiments. Several of these research experiments are conducted inside one of six different material balance area (MBA) hot cell banks located throughout the Site. In order to support the ORNL mission to deliver scientific discoveries and technical breakthroughs that will accelerate the deployment of solutions in a variety of manners, it is necessary for the Nuclear Materials Control and Accountability (NMC&A) Team to find ways to enable science to continue while maintaining a strong inventory reporting process throughout ORNL and in hard-to-conduct locations such as the hot cells. The ORNL NMC&A Team’s goal is to develop and implement an NMC&A Program consistent with policies, procedures, and standards in accordance with site specific NMC&A-approved Plans, DOE Orders, and Directives. Our NMC&A Team is responsible for maintaining records and to account for nuclear material inventories, receipts, shipments, purchases, decay, accidental losses, normal operating losses, and intra-laboratory transfers. These responsibilities cannot be accomplished without a strong, multi-layered, Material Control Program. Four vital areas within our NMC&A Material Control Program are Access Control, Material Surveillance, Material Containment, and Detection/Assessment.