The Canadian Safeguards Support Program - A future outlook

Full text: The Canadian Safeguards Support Program (CSSP) is one of the first safeguards support programs with an overall objective to assist the IAEA by providing technical assistance and other resources and by developing equipment to improve the effectiveness of international safeguards. This paper provides a brief discussion of the evolution of the CSSP, from the beginning when the program was under joint management between the Atomic Energy Control Board (AECB) and Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), a Canadian crown corporation, until recent years when the AECB became responsible for all projects and financial management. Recently, new legislation came into force and the AECB became the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). However, the mandate and management of the CSSP under the CNSC remain fundamentally unchanged. Major CSSP activities are devoted to the following areas: (a) Human resource assistance through the provision of cost-free experts (CFEs) to the IAEA; (b) Training of IAEA inspectors and facility operators, development of training resources and integrated approaches for training; (c) System studies, e.g. the development of integrated safeguards approach for CANDU reactors, geological repository, and physical model; (d) Equipment development, e.g. the VXI Integrated Fuel Monitor, Digital Cerenkov Viewing Device, seals, remote monitoring, encryption and authentication; (e) Information technology which includes satellite imagery, Geographical Information System (GIS), and position tracking of spent fuel containers. The CSSP has continued to evolve during the past 25 years. Although formerly larger the CSSP budget has settled to a stable level of just slightly above (Canadian) $2M. Leveraging of the CSSP budget through collaborations with several Member State Support Programs and Canadian government departments has provided mutual benefits for all parties involved and useful results that have been put into practical use by the IAEA. (author)