An Introduction to the Structure of Safeguards Under the US/IAEA Agreement

Pending Senate approval, nuclear facilities throughout the United States will begin to implement International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards under the terms of the agreement negotiated between the U.S. and the IAEA. Some of the basic concepts and documents used in IAEA safeguards are new to the U.S. nuclear community. In the following, we present a brief overview of the basic structure of IAEA safeguards as they are to be applied in the U.S., with explanations of the concepts and documents required. It is our hope that this brief discussion will serve to clarify some areas where there may be problems and thus ease the overall process of implementation of IAEA safeguards in the U.S.