The Role of New Technology in New and Modified Safeguards Approaches

Remote monitoring has been discussed but not yet implemented by the IAEA. But recent developments in remote monitoring make it more promising than hitherto for international safeguards. It has the potential to both increase effectiveness and save money. For example, remote video surveillance could make timeliness inspections unnecessary, by giving the IAEA continuous access to facility information. And it could allow some flow verifications to be performed from Vienna. So the IAEA's inspection effort could be reduced significantly without any loss of assurance of non-diversion, a welcome result in the light of the IAEA's increasing financial restrictions. The technique of remote surveillance has been demonstrated. Now legal and political aspects have to be thought through and safeguards approaches developed. Remote monitoring is especially promising for new or modified safeguards approaches where it is integrated with other verification methods. Such integrated systems could be capable of adjusting the frequency with which they capture data in the light of events (movements etc), so that essentially only safeguards-relevant information is transmitted from the facility to IAEA centres.