Safeguards Initiatives for the Direct Use of Spent PWR Fuel in CANDU Reactors(DUPIC) Process

Through the US Department of Energy (DOE)/ Korean Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) bilateral arrangement for safeguards R&D, the Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is developing safeguards process for DUPIC. DUPIC is a process to reconstitute spent PWR fuel as CANDU fuel to power CANDU reactors. Novel safeguards approaches are needed to verify a material balance for this process because the high radioactivity of the spent fuel precludes, or at least hinder, traditional measurements. Safeguards research and development for DUPIC will involve unattended continuous monitoring and include the development of neutron coincidence counting measurement instruments, the development of a materials accountability system, simulation and statistical analysis of measurement systems, and training. An INVS neutron measurement instrument has been delivered to KAERI and initial tests have been performed. Simulation activities to date have been focused on a hot-cell experiment and will be expanded to model measurements for a pilot plant. A demonstration of a visual imaging and radiation monitoring system is planned for the KAERI hot-cells. These and future development plans will be discussed.