Accuracy and Reliability Matters: Calibration of Plant Operator’s Radiometric Instrumentation for Safeguards Applications

The last two decades have witnessed a remarkable transition in the nuclear industry in terms of the quality and safety of its operations and of the plant and instrumentation used to underpin that quality. Some of the modern in-line, process control instrumentation offers a cost effective solution to achieving the 93+2 programme requirement of broader access to information from plant operators. Whilst the typical requirements of the plant operator may differ significantly from those of the safeguards inspectorate or materials accountants, the use of these special instruments can, in many cases, be tailored to meet both. Assumptions made in data interpretation from in-line instruments need to be carefully reviewed and revised to minimise bias for safeguards and accountancy purposes. In addition the combination of supplementary measurement technologies into an in-line system can help reduce the associated measurement biases. Commissioning and calibration of the instruments needs to be planned to obtain sufficient characterisation of the system to enable both accountancy and safety data to be produced.