The Concusions of the LASCAR Forum

A null {national forun termed LASCAR (Urge SCAle Reprocessing Plants) held its fifth and the last Plenary meeting in Shinoda and Tokyo. Japan in May 1992. This forum was established prompted by an extrabudgetary funding to the IAEA starting from 1987 by the Government of Japan. The purpose of the funding was to enable a detailed review of relevant technology for large scale reprocessing plants, so that the Agency would have the basis for designing appropriate safeguards systems. After holding 19 sessions of plenary and working group meetings over a four year period, the forum completed its report and delivered it to the Agency at the last plenary meeting. The main conclusion of the LASCAR members (France, Germany, Japan. UK. USA. CEC-Euratom and IAEA) is that there is a wide range of techniques available for effective safeguards of large nuclear fuel reprocessing plants expected to be operated on a commercial basis in the 1990' s. This paper is intended to summarize the entire LASCAR activities and discuss the conclusions of the LASCAR report.