Swedish Experiences in Implementing National and International Safeguards

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards has been applied in Sweden since the early 1970s, and bilateral safeguards since mid 1950s. The Swedish State System for Accountancy and Control (SSAC) includes all regulations that follow from prevailing Swedish legislation and obligations regarding the peaceful uses of nuclear material, including NPT-safeguards, bilateral and multilateral undertakings. The system has been developed by the SwedishNuclear Power Inspectorate (SKI), as being the national safeguards authority, in cooperation with the Swedish nuclear industry. This paper presents the background to and experiences from the implementation of the SSAC and the IAEA safeguards system, gained by the Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate and the Swedish nuclear industry, respectively. Joint approaches and solutions to some significant safeguards issues are discussed. The cooperation between the nuclear industry and the authority in R&D activities are also discussed, in particular with respect to the Swedish Support Programme to IAEA safeguards where the nuclear industry is actively involved by offering facilities for instrument testing and training of IAEA inspectors. The cooperative system between the National Safeguards Authority and the nuclear industry is emphasized, and some of the difficulties encountered in the system also are discussed.