ESTABLISHMENT OF THE RUSSIAN SAFEGUARDS METHODOLOGY AND TRAINING CENTRE

The Russian Federation has recently decided to transform and reinforce its State System of Accountancy and Control (SSAC) of nuclear materials. At the basis of the new system, consistent with the example of other national or regional systems, a laboratory framework giving reference and traceability to international standards, methodological support and training is planned. This last point includes the establishment of laboratories and facilities designed for the development, calibration, evaluation of the performances and training in the proper use of measurement methods and containment and surveillance measures, which are the basis for the implementation of an objective and sound nuclear material accountancy and control system. These projects will have to be tailored to the requirements of the nuclear fuel cycle in the Russian Federation and may eventually also be of interest for other countries in the CIS. The European Commission, in the framework of the collaboration with the Russian Federation, has proposed and initiated projects oriented to supporting the above plans. One of these projects concerns the establishment of the Russian Methodological and Training Centre RMTC at the Institute of Physics and Power Engineering (IPPE) of OBNINSK, Kaluga Region, in the Russian Federation. A detailed study of the features of the Russian fuel cycle as well as of the SSAC will be carried out preliminarily, so that detailed specifications of the project can be designed. The RMTC will be mainly oriented to the training of plant operators and safeguards inspectors in the proper use, calibration and implementation of mass and volume determination techniques, nondestructive assay methods, sealing-identification, surveillance and monitoring techniques and the application of statistical methods for measurement and material balance evaluation. Some elements of DA results management will be given. It is planned to conduct physical inventory exercises for training in the application of inspection procedures. The training activities will be designed in such a way that the results can be readily used in real plant conditions. Studies are now conducted with other organisations involved in cooperative actions with the Russian Federation to establish the link between the RMTC training functions and the nuclear material accountancy and control systems being implemented at ELECTROSTAL and NOVOSIBIRSK (for LEU fuel fabrication plants) and MAYAK and TOMSK (for nuclear fuel reprocessing plants). The role of the RMTC will strictly be in fact to teach those NMAC and Safeguards techniques that are being or will later be employed in real plants. The paper describes the main features of the RMTC project.