JRC Scientific and Technical Support to IAEA Safeguards: Achievements, Lessons Learned, and Future Opportunities

This invited technical review article takes a look back and a lookahead in the area of research and development for internationalsafeguards: some main developments, applications, the lessonslearned, and the outlook for the future. Selected highlights of thepast scientific and technical contributions of the EuropeanCommission’s Joint Research Centre to the International AtomicEnergy Agency (IAEA) safeguards inspections and technicalsupport divisions are described: the development of the first largesizedmetal spikes, the delivery of a laboratory robot designed forautomatic U/Pu separations, the provision of safeguards trainingin PERLA (Performance Laboratory) and the use of theTEMPEST (Thermal, Electro-Magnetic, Physical EquipmentStress Testing) laboratory for IAEA. Current collaborationsinclude the support activities to the Rokkasho Reprocessingplant, work on environmental micro-particle analysis, the deliveryof nuclear reference materials and ultrasonic seals and the supportin combating illicit trafficking of nuclear and radioactive materials.Based on these collaborations, an analysis is presented of thelessons learned and the areas for potential improvement, bothunder the support programme scheme and through enhancedinternational collaboration. Finally an outlook of future challengesand opportunities is given for S&T support to internationalsafeguards and nuclear security issues covering aspects suchas exploitation of satellite imagery and open source information,enhanced instruments for physical inventory taking in U facilities,innovative applications of containment and surveillancetechnologies, novel training courses for enhancing the nuclearinspectors observation and soft skills and issues of proliferationresistance of future nuclear energy systems.