IAEA Symposium on International Safeguards

Bringing IAEA Safeguards in the United States into the 21st Century

Not scheduled

5m

M Building (Vienna International Centre)

Wedge Participant Shaping the future of safeguards implementation (SGI) [SGI] Tools, Approaches and IT Systems for State Safeguards Reporting

Speaker

Mr Eduardo Sastre (U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission)

Description

Since 1980, the United States (U.S.) has permitted the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to apply safeguards to its civil nuclear facilities. At that time, the U.S. established the necessary infrastructure to support IAEA safeguards implementation. The State System of Accounting for and Control of Nuclear Material (SSAC) included developing the necessary procedures, system of records and reports, equipment, experts and organizational structure to meet IAEA safeguarding requirements. After nearly four decades, the U.S. has recently embarked on various projects to bring the SSAC infrastructure into the 21st Century. Beginning in 2011, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission worked to update all of the required IAEA Design Information Questionnaires (DIQ) and Transitional Facility Attachments (TFA) for selected licensed facilities under the Reporting Protocol to the US-IAEA Voluntary Offer Safeguards Agreement INFCIRC/288. Extensive work was needed as some of the DIQs and TFAs were over 30 years old. In 2016, the U.S. and the IAEA agreed to apply an amendment to modify the Small Quantities Protocol to the US-IAEA Agreement for the Application of Safeguards in Connection with The Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America, i.e., the “Tlatelolco Safeguards Agreement.” This effort has led to federal regulatory changes. Similarly, the U.S. Department of Commerce is planning to roll-out advanced domestic software to facilitate Additional Protocol reporting, making it easier for U.S. companies to meet domestic reporting requirements. Likewise, the U. S. Department of Energy is working on a substantial upgrade to the U.S. national nuclear material accountancy database with the goal of enhancing its tracking and reporting capabilities. The expected combined outcome of all of these projects is a more efficient and modern infrastructure that will facilitate the implementation of safeguards in the U.S. This paper will address the development of these projects, including the challenges encountered and the expected future ones.