A Host Computer System for Distributed, Unattended Plutonium Safeguards

Year
1992
Author(s)
Markku Koskelo - Canberra Industries
M. Swinhoe - Euratom Safeguards Directorate
B. G. R. Smith - Commission of the European Communities
M. Franklin - Commission of the European Communities, Joint Research Centre - Ispra Establishment
P.A. Zukosky - Canberra Nuclear
Abstract
Sophisticated tools are increasingly required for adequate safeguarding of nuclear materials. One such tool, a Non-Destructive Assay (NDA) system for safeguarding plutonium, has been developed and installed in an automated nuclear fuel processing facility. This paper describes the host computer system which is connected via a Local Area Network (LAN) to several remote acquisition stations. The processes running on the host are responsible for accepting neutronics and gamma data from each Data Acquisition Subsystem (DAS), performing quality assurance tests on the data, analyzing the data, and storing the analysis results into a relational database. A Graphical User Interface (GUI) on the host system allows an inspector to examine measurement data and analysis results for any DAS connected to the LAN. Reports are also available for comparing computed isotopic abundances and plutonium mass with declared values. The motivation for developing such a system is discussed here, and the hardware and software components of the host are then described in detail.