The QA Factor

This paper addresses the role of nuclear materials measurements and related accounting records and reports in the overall context of safeguards and security objectives to provide credible assurance that nuclear materials are accounted for and not diverted to malevolent use. It describes the elements of quality assurance and the extension of these elements to a concept of Quantity Assurance, \"The QA Factor.\" The paper identifies the importance of preventative measures against theft or malevolent use of nuclear materials generally provided by the personnel security and physical protection elements and analyzes how quantity assurance sets the basis for and complements those measures, primarily through their potential deterrence and quantitative capabilities. The paper addresses in some detail, the significance of such measures. The quantitative measures serve a unique role in providing necessary confidence that the preventative measures are working effectively and in providing capabilities to enhance the prospects for minimizing damaging effects resultant from thefts or diversions of nuclear materials. Localization of probable process steps where theft or diversion took place and identification of possible adversaries are described as a direct capability of quantity assurance measures.