MPC&A Upgrades at the Institute of Theoretical Experimental Physics

Materials Protection, Control and Accounting (MPC&A) equipment upgrades are complete at the Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Physics (ITEP), a site that has significant quantities of weapons-potential nuclear materials. Cooperative work was initiated at this Moscow facility as a part of the U.S.-Russian program to upgrade MPC&A systems. An initial site visit and assessment were conducted in September 1996 to establish communication between ITEP, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and participating U.S. National Laboratories. Subsequently, an agreement was reached to develop two master plans for MPC&A upgrades. Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) assisted in developing a plan for Material Control and Accounting (MC&A) upgrades, and Sandia National Laboratories1 (SNL) assisted in developing a plan for Physical Protection System (PPS) upgrades. The MC&A plan included MC&A training, a mass measurement program, nondestructive assay instrumentation, item identification (bar coding), physical inventory taking, portal and hand-held nuclear material monitors, and a nuclear materials accounting system. The PPS plan included basic PPS design training, Central Alarm Station (CAS) relocation and equipment upgrades, a site and critical-building access control system, intrusion detection, alarm assessment, and guard force communications.