Performance and qualification tests for safeguards equipment

Performance and environmental tests are conducted to determine if the tested item can be stored, transported and operated under various conditions without experiencing physical damage or deterioration in performance. An analysis of transport, storage and operating conditions must take into account the influence of environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, vibrations, shocks and electromagnetic perturbations. At the Institute for System, Informatics and Safety of the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, testing facilities have been set up and have been called the TEMPEST laboratory (Thermal, Electromagnetic and Physical Equipment Stress Testing) in order to define the performance characteristics and to establish performance profiles as well as the fitness for the purpose of C/S devices. Under Task EUR A-S60 of the Support Programme of the European Commission to TAEA Safeguards a test procedure has been developed in order to qualify IAEA safeguards equipment. Various equipment have been tested in the last years as described in this paper. (author)