COOPERATION BETWEEN JAPAN AND UNITED STATES ON THE PHYSICAL PROTECTION OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL TRANSPORTATION

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) are conducting a multi-year cooperative research and training program. The program is focused on JAEA’s physical protection systems for transport of mixed oxide (MOX) fuel materials to establish the method for enhancing the physical protection measures for land transport of fissile nuclear materials. Recognizing, in general, that fissile materials are potentially attractive and venerable to theft or sabotage during transport, this collaborative effort is funded by JAEA. This cooperative work has been implemented using a phased approach involving several major tasks. The first major task included the collection and analysis of baseline information regarding Japan’s fissile material transportation system, a review of the legal infrastructure for protection of fissile material during transport, and the identification of potential threats to that infrastructure through a review of the open literature. As part of Task 1 work, a workshop was conducted on Design Basis Threat (DBT) and the Design and Evaluation Process Outline (DEPO) approach to physical protection. Analysis of a physical protection system (PPS) was performed during the second major task of this collaborative work. This analysis included the creation of a hypothetical or “project” DBT. The project or hypothetical DBT was used to conduct a vulnerability assessment (VA) and consequence analysis (CA). A workshop was subsequently held at JAEA to review the results of the CA and VA. Under the third major task, SNL and JAEA have evaluated possible upgrades to an existing transport system for MOX fuel. A workshop on Guidance and Recommendations for Increasing Delays during Transportation was conducted in conjunction with this task. The cooperative efforts and research conducted by JAEA and SNL have been very fruitful and have increased the understanding and perspectives of both organizations regarding design and evaluation of PPSs. This paper describes the general methodology and results of the cooperative activity without releasing sensitive information.