Tracking of Accountable Nuclear Material

As the nuclear material accountancy (NMA) arm of the U.S. System of Accounting for and Control of nuclear material (SSAC), the Nuclear Materials Management and Safeguards System (NMMSS)[1] provides mission-critical data analytics, products, and services to inform policy decisions and responses to management of accountable nuclear material.   The Department of Energy (DOE)/National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has well-established and proven material control and accountability (MC&A) processes designed to provide cradle-to-grave management and tracking of accountable nuclear material. The governance framework, implemented through DOE directives and contractual requirements, defines the applicable requirements and performance objectives.  Included are provisions for tracking pertinent information related to DOE-owned nuclear materials at government and commercial sites throughout the U.S. and in foreign countries.  A central premise in the overall MC&A process is also to assure clear alignment of programmatic responsibility for the nuclear material coupled with its lifecycle fiscal requirements.  Toward that end, the Project Numbers serve as one of the critical building blocks to inform DOE management of the status of nuclear materials and the eventual disposition options.This paper explores the DOE’s nuclear material management processes and the indispensable role that NMMSS serves in its overall implementation strategy.  Furthermore, the paper will present the process by which NMMSS in collaboration with DOE/NNSA sites, program offices, Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and the regulated commercial nuclear industry licensed by the NRC meets these objectives.Furthermore, this paper presents lessons learned, noteworthy practices, and recommendations of potential benefit for other IAEA member states using similar material control and accountability systems.[1] NMMSS is managed and operated by the Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).  The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) via an interagency agreement extends NMMSS functionalities to the regulated commercial nuclear industry.