An Overview Of Recent And Planned Advances In The Evaluation Of Environmental Sample And Nuclear Material Characterization Analysis Results

The competent and timely evaluation of environmental sample and nuclear material characterization analysis results within the Department of Safeguards at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is vital to providing assurances regarding the absence of undeclared nuclear materials and/or activities in a State and an important contribution to drawing credible safeguards conclusions. While analytical techniques and methodologies have continued to evolve and improve over the years, the suite of software tools used to evaluate the analysis results has, until recently, remained mostly unchanged. In preparation for a potential significant increase in the number of environmental and nuclear material samples collected in the field and to leverage the multiple types of data being reported by the Network of Analytical Laboratories (NWAL), significant efforts have been undertaken to improve the tools available to the Division of Information Management (SGIM) in order to increase both the effectiveness and efficiency of evaluating the analytical data. This paper provides an overview of the recent advances in the software and data analysis techniques used by IAEA evaluators, as well as those envisioned for the near-future.