Report of the Material Control and Material Accounting Task Force: the role of material control and material accounting in the safeguards program

Results are presented of NRC Task Force investigations to identify the functions of a safeguards program in relation to the NRC safeguards objective, define the role and objectives of material control and material accounting systems within that program, develop goals for material control and material accounting based on those roles and objectives, assess current material control and material accounting requirements and performance levels in the light of the goals, and recommend future actions needed to attain the proposed goals. It was found that the major contribution of material accounting to the safeguards program is in support of the assurance function. It also can make secondary contributions to the prevention and response functions. In the important area of loss detection, a response measure, it is felt that limitations inherent in material accounting for some fuel cycle operations limit its ability to operate as a primary detection system to detect a five formula kilogram loss with high assurance (defined by the Task Force as a probability of detection of 90 percent or more) and that, in those cases, material accounting can act only in a backup role. Physical security and material control must make the primary contributions to the prevention and detection of theft, so that safeguards do not rely primarily for detection capabilities on material accounting. There are several areas of accounting that require more emphasis than is offered by the current regulatory base. These areas include: timely shipper-receiver difference analysis and reconciliation; a demand physical inventory capability; improved loss localization;discard measurement verification; timely recovery of scrap; improved measurement and record systems; and limits on cumulative inventory differences and shipper-receiver differences. An increased NRC capability for monitoring and analyzing licensee accounting data and more timely and detailed submittals of data to NRC by licensees are recommended