INCREASING FISSILE INVENTORY ASSURANCE TO ADDRESS CHANGING REQUIREMENTS IN DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL SAFEGUARDS

The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Security Evaluations commissioned a study to examine the status of the physical inventory values for plutonium and high enriched uranium within the DOE complex. The intent of the study was to evaluate overall Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear materials inventories and identify significant trends across the complex that could affect the DOE until the ultimate disposition of the inventory is determined. The study indicates how the DOE could increase the level of assurance of the nuclear materials inventory and identifies the factors that must be considered as material is being dispositioned. This paper present some preliminary results from the study.