SAFEGUARDS BY DESIGN FOR URANIUM CONVERSION FACILITIES

Uranium conversion facilities are often the last to be considered, or even forgotten, when discussions are held on issues such as safeguards strategy or safeguards by design. However, with the increased profile of uranium conversion and changes in the interpretation of the starting point of safeguards by the IAEA, it is now becoming widely recognised that it can be very difficult to implement fully effective safeguards regimes this type of facility. For most existing uranium conversion facilities, the prevailing safeguards approaches have been developed and implemented retrospectively. This paper looks at the issues and factors that should be addressed at the design stage in order to facilitate an overall more effective and consistent safeguards regime for uranium conversion facilities in the long term.