DEVELOPMENT OF REMOTE MONITORING SYSTEM FOR THE UNATTENDED MODE NDA IN PFPF

Remote monitoring is one of the important elements to strengthen the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA’s) safeguards system. With the progress of digital processing technology for image data, remote monitoring for containment and surveillance has been greatly advanced and already is nearly the stage of IAEA use. Another important technical element in safeguards implementation is the use of unattended mode Nondestructive Assay (NDA) systems. PNC has introduced and demonstrated various kinds of unattended mode NDA systems in the Plutonium Fuel Production Facility, PFPF, since 1989 in the cooperation with Los Alamos National Laboratory, LANL. To maximize the utilization of those systems, remote monitoring for NDA information should be developed. PNC andLANL have initiated the development of a remote monitoring system for the unattended mode NDA system at PFPF in 1997 in a joint study program. In November 1997, the first phase of the remote monitoring system successfully demonstrated its ability to send NDA data to a remote location with data authentication and encryption. This paper discusses the outline of the remote monitoring system for the unattended mode NDA at PFPF and new ideas for the international safeguards implementation scheme.