Development of a generic computerized nuclear material accountability system

A computerized nuclear material accountability system (NucMAS) has been developed jointly by DuPont at Savannah River Plant (SRP) and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The SRP is faced with the goal of improving the accuracy and timeliness of nuclear material accountability. Limited manpower, funding, and time led to the decision to develop a single, generic, process-independent computer system for use throughout SRP's separations facilities, rather than traditional process-specific accountability computer systems. The NucMAS system is currently being installed in each of the material balance areas (MBAs) within SRP's separations facilities. It services the basic need for management of nuclear material inventory data to support timely, accurate, and consistent accountability reporting. Data input for NucMAS can come from any combination of manual entries and automated input, such as distributed control systems, laboratory computers, and vault surveillance systems. The system can be operated as a traditional, after-the-fact accountability system or in a near-real-time mode in situations where more timely data input is available and material control functions are desired. The granularity at which the accounting is performed is set by the MBA custodian and the level of detail at which input information is available