Experience of the Central Control Laboratory (CCL) in accounting for and controlling nuclear material in Czechoslovakia

The four years of experience obtained in accounting for and controlling nuclear materials within the framework of the Czechoslovak safeguards system and with the co-operation of the IAEA is discussed. The methods for determining uranium, thorium, and plutonium in various nuclear materials, from the aspect of both chemical and isotopic composition, have been developed and introduced into routine use. The transport, storing, and preparation of samples for analysis, as well as experimental devices, calibration, and comparative tests, are involved. The errors evaluated are given. Other methods have also been established at the CCL for solving some problems in nuclear fuel control such, for example, as the determination of burnup and nuclear spectrometry. Participation in the PAFEX-I and PAFEX-II experiments is noted. (author)