Nuclear Materials Information System

The Nuclear Materials Information System (NM1S) as it is presently constituted is the result of a long and rocky development. It was. first visualized as an automation and computerization of the hand-kept records used for the Safeguards Control and Materials Management of the Atomic Energy Commission's nuclear material holdings. The automated system was started in 1965. Since that time it has been broadened to serve all of the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) users of nuclear materials data. In particular, the interfacing of transaction and inventory data with its unit costs; the development of a sealed source module; the building of safeguards and security inspection packages; and the analysis of nuclear materials data for safeguards, materials management and financial purposes to name a few. Details of the system, its shortcomings and strengths and answers to its many critics is the thrust of this report.