Volume 6, Number 2
December 2008

Editor's Note: Each of the six INMM technical divisions will be highlighted in upcoming issues of the Communicator. This issue, we present the International Safeguards Technical Division.

The INMM International Safeguards Technical Division
By Jim Larrimore, Chair, INMM ISD; Gotthard Stein, Vice Chair, INMM ISD; George Baldwin, Susan Pepper, Mark Schanfein, Marius Stein and Michael Whitaker, ISD Management Team

The International Safeguards Technical Division (ISD) completed another good year in July 2008, serving the international safeguards community through INMM involvement with the continuing important developments in international safeguards and nonproliferation. This report highlights recent and planned ISD activities.

International Safeguards Technical Sessions
At the 49th Annual INMM Meeting, Nashville, Tenn. USA, July 13-17, 2008

For 49th Annual INMM Meeting, ISD organized special sessions on the Next Generation Safeguards Initiative, safeguards research and development, safeguarding gas centrifuge enrichment plants, and safeguarding plutonium recycle processes.

The special session on DOE/NA-24’s Next Generation Safeguards Initiative (NGSI) was chaired by Adam Scheinman and featured presentations by Mark Goodman on safeguards authorities and institutions, Stephen LaMontagne on safeguards technology development priorities, Dunbar Lockwood on creating a growing and sustainable safeguards workforce, and Alex Sunshine on nuclear infrastructure development.

This was the first time that NGSI had been presented in a public forum. Following the four papers, a distinguished panel composed of Jill Cooley, IAEA Director of Safeguards Concepts and Planning, Matthew Bunn, Harvard University, and John Carlson, Australian Nuclear Safeguards Office, who offered their comments on the initiative and the future requirements for international safeguards. After the panel member’s statements the audience was invited to ask questions. The session was well attended with almost 250 people in attendance.

In a special session focused on safeguards research and development and the U.S. Support Program to IAEA Safeguards (USSP), Nikolai Khlebnikov, IAEA director for safeguards technical support, opened the session with a report on the IAEA’s progress and plans for the IAEA Department of Safeguards Research and Development Program. This was followed by presentations by members of the International Safeguards Project Office’s technical staff on the USSP’s activities, its priorities and processes. One important USSP project was highlighted by Marius Stein, Canberra Albuquerque, who spoke about the Next Generation Surveillance System, which will replace the IAEA’s DCM-14-based systems.

The special session on Safeguarding Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Plants – Best Practices and Prototypes was conducted in two parts; John Carlson, ASNO, Australia, and Jill Cooley, IAEA, co-chaired the first part and Tim Korbmacher, Urenco, Germany, chaired the second part. Topics included field trials, application experience, feasibility studies and analyses of specific safeguards measures and safeguards approaches.

Presenters included representatives from inspectorates (IAEA and ABACC), enrichment companies (Urenco), U.S. Department of Energy laboratories, Russia, Japan and U.S. universities. The papers presented the results of very recent work investigating technology and practices to assess and respond to challenges of maintaining safeguards effectiveness in a growing enrichment market. The panel discussion, moderated by Brian Boyer, provided a unique opportunity for the audience and presenters to engage in more detailed discussions of related topics of interest.

In a special session on Current and Future Approaches to Safeguarding Plutonium Recycle Processes, chaired by Shirley Johnson and Scott DeMuth, the papers presented covered a range of topics including policy, design, R&D and operations. Presenters represented an international perspective as their home organizations included AREVA, France; IAEA; Sellafield, UK; Los Alamos National Laboratory; and Tucker Creek Consulting. The presentations by international speakers were of particular interest to the audience. This topic has significant potential for future annual meetings due to the nuclear renaissance, and could become a highlight of the Annual Meeting as it matures.

The Annual INMM Meeting also included a wide-ranging set of sessions on international safeguards, including sessions on Challenges to International Safeguards and the Nonproliferation Regime, Strengthening and Optimizing Safeguards, Advances in Safeguards Technology (two parts), Education, Training and Information Systems, Safeguards/Surveillance of Spent Nuclear Fuel (joint with Waste Management Division), and Tracking and Detection (joint with Packaging and Transportation, Physical Protection and Nonproliferation and Arms Control Divisions).

ISD Divisional Meetings
Held in conjunction with the European Safeguards R&D Association (ESARDA) meeting in May 2008 and at the INMM Annual Meeting in July 2008.
An ISD technical division meeting was held on May 26, 2008, in conjunction with the 2008 ESARDA annual meeting in Luxembourg. The ISD meeting took place late in the afternoon of the day before the ESARDA meeting in the Jean Monnet conference center of the European Commission, chaired by ISD Management Team member Marius Stein with 25 people in attendance.

The invited speaker, Eric Pujol from the Division of Concepts and Planning of the IAEA, presented an overview on the IAEA’s “20/20 Vision,” introducing the main pillars and their importance for nonproliferation and safeguards. The following lively discussion addressed the implications of the initiative, with questions ranging from its relationship to the Next Generation Safeguards Initiative, its impact on disarmament efforts, the potentially changing role of the IAEA in nuclear energy R&D, and the resource requirements for changing safeguards responsibilities.

At the 49th INMM Annual Meeting, Nashville, Tenn., on the afternoon of July 13, the first part of the ISD technical division meeting was held jointly with the Nonproliferation and Arms Control Division. The topic addressed, Iran--Safeguards and Nonproliferation Issues, attracted more than 70 participants.

Two introductory presentations were made. Jim Larrimore covered Iran’s nuclear history; compliance in safeguards agreements; the IAEA Board of Governors consideration of Iran from 2003 to February 2006, when noncompliance was reported to the UN Security Council; the noncompliance findings on Iran and corrective actions taken by Iran; UN Security Council consideration of Iran since 2006; Confidence Building Measures and international confidence in IAEA Board and UN Security Council Resolutions; and the IAEA-Iran Agreed Work Plan of August 2007. John Carlson, ASNO, Australia, commented on the nature of compliance; whether IAEA can decide on intent; whether IAEA can investigate weaponization; confidence in Iran; and IAEA processes, past, present and future.

In the discussion, comments were made particularly about the points raised by John Carlson. It was noted that the Iranian nuclear issue has moved from technical and legal questions to broader NPT implications because of Iran’s response to the IAEA Board and UN Security Council Resolutions. The discussion made it clear that compliance with safeguards agreements and compliance with nonproliferation obligations are intertwined and complex, and the issues are not closed.
The second part of the ISD meeting included:

• An introduction to the ISD special sessions by Michael Whitaker, Shirley Johnson and Susan Pepper;
• Remarks on international safeguards developments by Kaoru Naito, Japan; Jill Cooley, IAEA; Stamatios Tsalas, European Commission; Jim Casterton, Canada; Orpet Peixoto, ABACC; Michael Beaman, UK; Michel Richard, France; and John Carlson, Australia;
• An IAEA recruitment presentation, “IAEA - the world’s nuclear partner,” by Naomi Bichler-Bell; and
• Reports on ISD activities by Michael Whitaker on the ANS Portland Meeting; Jim Larrimore (for Marius Stein) on the ISD meeting at ESARDA, Luxembourg; and by Gotthard Stein and Jim Larrimore on the 2008 INMM/ESARDA Tokyo Workshop.

ISD Co-Sponsorships in 2008
ISD co-sponsored the successful 8th International Conference on Facility Operator – Safeguards Interface on March 30-April 4, 2008 in Portland, Ore. ISD has assisted in the organization of the INMM International Workshop on Gamma Spectrometry Analysis Codes for U and Pu Isotopics, on November 3- 7, 2008, in Oak Ridge, Tenn. USA.

2008 INMM/ESARDA Tokyo Workshop
ISD has completed the planning for the 6th INMM – ESARDA Workshop to be held on October 6-9, 2008 at The International House of Japan in Tokyo, Japan. ISD has worked with the Japan Chapter of INMM and ESARDA in organizing the Workshop. The INMM Korea Chapter is also cooperating in the Workshop organization. The Nonproliferation and Arms Control Division is participating in developing a Working Group program, and Mark Leek, Chair, Student Activities Committee, is organizing a Working Group program on nonproliferation and safeguards education.

The topic of the 2008 Tokyo Workshop was “Meeting Safeguards Challenges in an Expanding Nuclear World” with the main themes: safeguards implementation and state evaluation, technical progress – the safeguards toolbox, safeguards and nonproliferation policy and institutional issues, andsafeguards and nonproliferation academic and training programs.

ISD Outreach
An overview of the International Safeguards Division and a comprehensive tutorial on international safeguards is posted on the INMM Web site.