Year
1999
Abstract
The full-day session on reference materials at the INMM Annual Meeting will be divided into two parts, each with a different format. In the morning, invited speakers from seven countries will discuss how their laboratories approach the ultimate aim of reference materials: international certification and SI traceability. In the afternoon, participants will address this topic in depth, guided by a discussion leader and discussants. The topic provides a common ground for discussions among representatives from reference material laboratories in the United States, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Austria, Belgium, and Russia. My presentation will set the issues in a global perspective. It is important to realize the significance of these deliberations: the presence of representatives from so many countries in this session is an historic event. The session will take an approach that is scientific and non-political. Drawing on knowledge gained from years of work in the nuclear community, speakers and discussants will present their laboratories’ strategies for resolving barriers to international interactions and to progress in the nuclear community regarding reference materials. Issues discussed will include (but are not limited to) traceability, the essential components of a nuclear materials control and accountability system, the quality of starting materials, laboratory comparisons, international collaborations in reference materials certification, and assay techniques for special nuclear materials.