The Euratom Safeguards On-site Laboratories at the Reprocessing Plants of La Hague and Sellafield

In the European Union, nuclear material is reprocessed from irradiated power reactor fuel at two sites ¿ La Hague in France and Sellafield in the United Kingdom. These are the largest nuclear sites within the EU, processing many hundreds of tons of nuclear material in a year. Under the Euratom Treaty, the European Commission has the duty to assure that the nuclear material is only used for declared purposes. The Directorate General for Energy (DG ENER), acting for the Commission, assures itself that the terms of Article 77 of Chapter VII of the Treaty have been complied with. In contrast to the Non Proliferation Treaty, the Euratom Treaty requires to safeguard all civil nuclear material in all EU member states ¿ including the nuclear weapons states. The considerable amount of fissile material separated per year (several tonnes) calls for a stringent system of safeguards measures. The aim of safeguards is to deter diversion of nuclear material from peaceful use by maximizing the chance of early detection. At a broader level, it provides assurance to the public that the European nuclear industry, the EU member states and the European Union honour their legal duties under the Euratom Treaty and their commitments to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Efficient and effective safeguards measures are essential for the public acceptance of nuclear activities.JRC.E.7-Nuclear Safeguards and Forensic

Comparative assessment of the Pu content of MOX samples by different techniques

The isotopic composition and concentration of Pu in eight "high-burn-up" mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel samples has been determined by destructive and non-destructive techniques. In addition, the U concentration and U isotopic composition was also available from the destructive techniques. The applied non-destructive techniques were gamma spectrometry, calorimetry and neutron coincidence counting, while the destructive techniques were titration, alpha spectrometry and thermal ionization mass spectrometry combined with isotope dilution. The current study describes the measurements and compares the results obtained by the mentioned techniques. Some lessons learned for the improvement of the non-destructive assay are also discussed.JRC.E.7-Nuclear Safeguards and Forensic

In-field Timely and Accurate Measurements - Fundamental to Minimising Safeguards Issues in Reprocessing Facilities

The two large reprocessing plants in Europe, located in Sellafield (UK) and La Hague (F) have a throughput of 800 t and 1600 t of spent fuel per year. In order to meet the safeguards criteria of quantity, timeliness and probability (QTP), these facilities deserve particular attention and appropriate safeguards measures have to be implemented. At either plant Euratom installed an on-site laboratory where the verification measurements are performed with minimal time delays and at highest possible accuracy.JRC.E-Institute for Transuranium Elements (Karlsruhe