COLLABORATIVE RUSSIAN-US WORK IN NUCLEAR MATERIAL PROTECTION, CONTROL AND ACCOUNTING AT THE INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS AND POWER ENGINEERING III. EMPHASIS ON SITE-WIDE ISSUES1.

During 1997, collaborative Russian-US nuclear material protection, control, and accounting (MPC&A) tasks at the Institute of Physics and Power Engineering (IPPE) in Obninsk, Russia are focusing increasingly on site-wide issues, though there is continued work at several major facilities: the Fast Critical Facility, the Technological Laboratory for Fuel Fabrication, and the (new and existing) Central Storage Facility. The collaborative work is being done with US Department of Energy National Laboratories. IPPE's emphasis on sitewide issues has resulted in the formation of a separate division for MPC&A. This new division reports directly to the IPPE Chief Engineer. It is a separate scientific and engineering operating division responsible for coordination and harmonization of MPC&A at IPPE, as well as for audit, assessment and inspection. By virtue of the organizational independence of this new division, IPPE has significantly strengthened the role of MPC&A. Two specific site-wide accomplishments are the consolidation of nuclear material from many buildings to a smaller number, and, as a major part of this strategy, the construction of a nuclear island surrounding the Fast Critical Facility and the new Central Storage Facility. Most of IPPE's weapons-grade nuclear materials will be concentrated within the nuclear island.