Nuclear Forensics Capacity Building at LLNL through Peer-to-Peer Engagements

As one of two laboratories designated by the U.S. government to perform operational analysis of bulk special nuclear material for nuclear forensics, LLNL continues to generate reliable, high-quality analytical results that are legally defensible in a court of law. Through these efforts, the Laboratory provides the technical information and data needed by decision makers for law enforcement and nuclear security purposes, while also advancing the state-of-the-art in nuclear forensic science. LLNL's nuclear forensics team is also at the forefront of international capacity building efforts in support of the U.S. Department of Energy and other interagency partners. These activities fall into three broad categories: general awareness creation, capacity building and peer-to-peer scientific engagements, and are often conducted through partnerships with international organizations such as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Nuclear Forensics International Technical Working Group (ITWG). This past fall, LLNL was the first U.S. National Laboratory to host the IAEA’s Residential Laboratory Assignment. This 3-month scientific mentorship, sponsored by the IAEA and the US DOE’s Office of Nuclear Smuggling Detection and Deterrence (NSDD), provided an early career mass spectrometrist from Argentina’s National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA) a unique opportunity to perform isotopic and elemental concentration measurements by inductively-coupled mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) under the stewardship of the LLNL Nuclear Forensics Team. Ultimately, the goal of these engagements is to enhance the skills and confidence of the international community in performing analytical measurements in support of a comprehensive nuclear forensic examination, and to build an international network of nuclear forensic scientists who can characterize material outside of regulatory control with high confidence.