PNNL

Abstract

Cylinder assay and mass measurements, the mainstay of enrichment plant verification efforts have historically been performed by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors using portable equipment. For the sake of efficiency, accuracy, and timeliness, such equipment is being supplanted by unattended measurement stations. Ancillary systems must be employed with such stations to ensure that measured parameters are properly recorded, cylinders are positively identified, operations occur according to procedure, and no tampering takes place in the inspectors’ absence. Depending on the facility, it may prove feasible to track cylinders from the measurement vicinity to their storage locations using surveillance. This paper will provide a cursory description of the various subsystems associated with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Integrated Cylinder Verification Station and how inattention to the requirements of such systems could seriously diminish the capability of the integrated whole.