THE APPLICATION OF CONTROLLABLE UNIT APPROACH (CUA) TO PERFORMANCE-CRITERION-BASED NUCLEAR MATERIAL CONTROL AND ACCOUNTING

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering the use of maximum-loss performance criteria as a means of controlling SNM in nuclear plants. The Controllable Unit Approach to material control and accounting (CUA) was developed by Mound to determine the feasibility of controlling a plant to a performance criterion. The concept was tested with the proposed Anderson, S. C., mixed-oxide plant, and it was shown that CUA is indeed a feasible method for controlling a complex process to a performance criterion. The application of CUA to an actual low-enrichment plant to assist the NRC in establishing performance criteria for uranium processes is discussed.