Advanced accountability techniques for breeder fuel fabrication facilities

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) has assigned the Hanford Engineering Development Laboratory (HEDL), operated by the Westinghouse Hanford Company, the project lead in developing a uniform nuclear materials reporting system for all contractors on the Hanford Reservation. The Hanford Nuclear Inventory System (HANISY) is based upon HEDL's real-time accountability system, originally developed in 1968. The HANISY system will receive accountability data either from entry by process operators at remote terminals or from non-destructive assay instruments connected to the computer network. Nuclear materials will be traced from entry, through processing to final shipment through the use of mini-computer technology. Reports to DOE will be formed directly from the real-time files. In addition, HEDL has established a measurement program that will complement the HANISY system, providing direct interface to the computer files with a minimum of operator intervention. This technology is being developed to support the High Performance Fuels Laboratory (HPFL), which is being designed to assess fuel fabrication techniques for proliferation-resistant fuels. (author)