Global Identification and Monitoring of UF6 Cylinders - Presentation

An expansion of global commerce in nuclear material will accompany the forecast worldwide renaissance in nuclear power. The increased commerce amplifies the risk that uranium hexafluoride (UF6) in cylinders could be mishandled, intentionally stolen, or diverted. While there are typically few problems with UF6 cylinder shipments, the complicated logistics of international truck, rail, and sea transport can increase difficulty in locating shipments at any given time and significantly delay transport and reporting. The recognized threat of undeclared enrichment plants has made UF6 more attractive for attempted diversion. A global system of registering, identifying, and monitoring UF6 cylinders would provide more robust and timely assurance that no UF6 is mishandled or diverted. The Office of Nonproliferation and International Security (NA?24) of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has formed a multi?laboratory team to focus on universal UF6 cylinder identification and global monitoring. The team produced an overview report discussing the current situation and potential solutions and identified future tasks that fall into three general categories. The first category involves policy initiatives to bring together all relevant stakeholders—facility operators and industry, state regulators and government agencies, international inspectorates, and technology developers—to reach consensus on universal identification and the importance of cylinder monitoring. Such policy?level discussions would include standardization of components, protocols, and procedures. The second category concerns a deeper investigation of the concepts involved, reflected in the research and publication of papers and technical reports. Such background work is merely the “tip of the iceberg” but may facilitate acceptance of a global regime by the stakeholders. The third category involves technology assessments and field trials to enable the development of theoretical concepts into practical approaches. This paper gives an overview of the progress to date and examines the next steps for governments and international agencies (from the policy side) and industry and national laboratories (from the technology and development side).