US/RUSSIA GOVERNMENT-TO-GOVERNMENT COOPERATION IN MATERIAL PROTECTION, CONTROL, AND ACCOUNTING AT THE SSC-RIAR, DIMITROVGRAD

The US/Russia Government-to-Government Cooperation in Material Protection, Control, and Accounting (MPC&A) was established in an agreement between the Department of Defense of the United States and the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Atomic Energy (M~ATOM). A subsequent agreement between the Department of Energy (DOE) and MINATOM, resulted in the selection of the State Scientific Center-Research Institute of Atomic Reactors (SSC-RIAR) in Dimitrovgrad as one of the Russian enterprises that would participate with US national laboratories in expanded cooperation aimed at enhancing MPC&A systems in both countries. The SSC-RIAR facilities under consideration for MPC&A enhancements consist of a reactor building, a fuel fabrication building, and a storage building. The long term goal of this project is the completion of a comprehensive implementation plan, and its subsequent execution, addressing key MPC&A elements for all, or as many as possible, facilities at SSC-RIAR containing appreciable amounts of highly enriched uranium and plutonium. This paper describes the nature and scope of the expanded cooperation involving SSC-RIAR and six U.S. national laboratories.