Real Time Inventory Data Bases: The Key to Material Control

The Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) has twenty five years experience of fissile material control using real time inventory data bases in Plutonium and Uranium production facilities. This paper describes the principles behind maintenance of a real time data base and the practical ways in which it may be done using manual, computer assisted and computer controlled systems. It discusses the factors which influence the choice of system for different facilities. The real time data base includes full details of all fissile items and all accountancy transactions at each individual criticality station within a system The advantages of such real time systems are highlighted for material accountancy, criticality control, physical security production control and planning.