Environmental Sampling and Measurements for International Safeguards: Commercial Environmental Industry Experience Applicable for Cost Effective Training

In November 1993, the Standing Advisory Group on Safeguards Inspection (SAGSI) recommended that further development, assessment, and use of environmental sampling and monitoring should be undertaken to support and enhance International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards. These recommendations, having been accepted by the IAEA Board of Governors can lead to the routine use of environmental sampling and measurements by IAEA inspectors to verify operations as declared and to monitor undeclared activities in the near future. Commercial environmental industries rely heavily on environmental sampling and analyses for the identifications of constituents of concern in air, water, and solid media in order to reach conclusions on compliance with regulations and to detect hazards to human health and the environment. If environmental sampling is to be efficiently used for IAEA safeguards inspections, training programs that incorporate applicable elements of proven industry practices in field sampling, sample management and environmental monitoring will be required. This paper describes commercial industry field sampling and monitoring techniques and associated training requirements that are applicable to the development of a future IAEA environmental sampling and monitoring program.