Year
1996
Abstract
The BN-350 is a 1000MW fast breeder reactor located on the Mangyshlak Peninsula at the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea near Aktau, Kazakstan. Operation started November 29, 1972 and since then the reactor has provided electricity, heat, and fresh water to the area. Reactor reloading occurs several times a year at which time fresh assemblies are loaded and spent assemblies are discharged to storage ponds. Spent assemblies are no longer returned to Russia so fresh and spent assemblies must be safeguarded by Kazakstan to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) requirements for a state party to the Treaty on Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons. In 1995, U.S. Department of Energy representatives from Argonne National Laboratory, New Brunswick Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory participated in a joint Material Control & Accountability (MC&A) survey with BN-350 specialists. From this, a joint Kazakstan - U.S. program is evolving to define and implement improved MC&A. Elements include a workshop on reactor physics, MC&A software benchmarked for BN-350, workstations and improved communications, calculation of discharged blanket self protection and spot-check measurements to verify calculations.