U. S. and Russian Cooperative Efforts to Enhance Nuclear Material Protection, Control, and Accountability at the Siberian Chemical Combine at Tomsk-7

The US partners in the Laboratory-to- Laboratory program in Nuclear Materials Protection, Control, and Accountability (MWXA) have reached signed agreements with the Siberian Chemical Combine (SKhK) to rapidly enhance the protection, control, and accountability of nuclear material at all of its facilities. SKhK is the largest muhi-fnnetion production center of the Russian nuclear complex and, until recently, its facilities produced and processed special nuclear materials for the Russian Defense Ministry. SKhK produces heat and electricity, enriches uranium for commercial reaetor fuel, reprocesses irradiated fuel, and converts highly enriched uranium metal into oxide for blending into low-enriched reaetor-grade uranium, and manufactures civilian products. SKhK is aggressively pursuing a program to enhance MPC&A which includes the installation of pedestrian and vehicle radiation monitors, rapid inventory methods, tamperindicating devices, computerized accounting systems, and physical protection measures. This work is a collaboration between technical experts from Brookhaven, Lawrence Livermore, Los Alamos, Oak Ridge, Pacific Northwest, and Sandia National Laboratories and their Russian eonnterparts at SKhK. This paper reviews the status of this initial effort and outlines plans for continuing the work in 1996.