Speaker
Description
**The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has implemented a Safeguards Quality Management System for more than a decade. This system promotes the development of optimized processes for implementing the IAEA’s safeguards verification mission in order to ensure that safeguards resources are best used to support the IAEA’s conclusions on the peaceful use of nuclear material. In addition to assuring that it is implementing efficient processes, the IAEA needs to perform performance monitoring to determine how effectively safeguards measures and analyses are performed in the field and at Headquarters. An ineffectively performed activity at any stage of safeguards implementation – planning, conduct, assessment or evaluation – could result in a diversion of nuclear material or an undeclared activity not being detected. Quality control measures are already applied to several safeguards activities, e.g. analytical laboratory measurements, metal seals verification, and surveillance reviews. The development of further quality control tests for safeguards implementation would permit the IAEA to perform performance monitoring of specific safeguards activities, identify where further improvements may be needed, and provide information to Member States on the effectiveness of IAEA safeguards. Examples of such tests could include checking that annual implementation plans are complete, verifying that complementary access activities are appropriate and conducted according to procedures, and confirming that inspection data is correctly analyzed. Annual publication of the quality control performance metrics would provide States with assurance that the published safeguards conclusions are correct and soundly based. This report will describe quality control and performance monitoring activities that could be undertaken by the IAEA. **
| Topics | SGI1 |
|---|---|
| Which "Key Question" does your Abstract address? | SGI1.2 |
