Testing new surveillance equipment for safeguards applications

Optical surveillance is one of the important safeguards measures applied by the IAEA. Surveillance equipment currently in use (twin and triple tine-camera systems and one-or multi-channel closed circuit TV systems) was designed more than a decade ago and some of the systems authorized for inspection use - specifically the single-channel TV systems - have failure rates that contribute significantly to the overall number of safeguards surveillance failures. In fact, the technical failure of surveillance equipment had been the largest single cause of inconclusive surveillance results at reactor facilities. The move from the current surveillance equipment to digital image surveillance (DIS) equipment has been one of the directions in the activities of the Department of Safeguards in the instrumentation area. In October 1995 the Department finalized its policy for transition to DIS, meant to provide inter alia a considerably higher reliability level of surveillance equipment, and agreed on the essential requirements for DIS systems. To be sure about the improved reliability of the new equipment, it was decided that all DIS systems must be tested for at least 150 equipment months in the field before their acceptance by the Agency. Three DIS systems have been approved for evaluation: Gemini, developed under a task of the US Support Programme to Agency safeguards; EMOSS-1, a product of the French Hymatom company; and VDIS, being completed under a task of the German Support Programme. Department-wide field test activities have been formulated with surveillance systems installed in nuclear facilities under safeguards in different countries. To expedite the testing, the Support Programmes of Finland, Germany, Hungary and the United States provided additional test locations. In September 1997 it was estimated that the field tests for EMOSS-1 would be completed by the end of October, and for Gemini and VDIS-One Channel the testing would be finished, respectively, late in 1997 and early in 1998. (author)