The Process Of Developing A New Passive Seal For Safeguards Use

The Process of Developing a New Passive Seal for Safeguards UseA. Enders1, K. Baird1, V. Kravtchenko1, C. Martinez1, T. Moskalev1, B. Wishard11International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, AustriaAbstractThe metal CAPS seal has been in use, in various forms, by the IAEA for over 50 years. Advances in technology and material science have potentially enabled new features such as verification in the field, rather than having verification performed at a later time back at headquarters, which can improve the timeliness of inspectors’ work and potentially reduce costs for the Agency. Still, replacing a seal that has become so ingrained into the culture of Safeguards represents significant challenges. The IAEA must balance cost, security and usability vectors in order to ensure longevity and acceptability in joint-usage. While the development is still ongoing, this paper will provide an overview of some of technical developments and activities undertaken by the Agency to pursue the optimum design for an improved passive seal. KeywordsInternational Safeguards, passive seals.