An emergency inventory system at the Oak Ridge Y-12 plant

A portable, computerized system for taking an emergency inventory of special nuclear materials (SNM) is in operation at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant. It is identified as the EIS (Emergency Inventory System). Prior to 1986, the physical inventory and reconciliation system for an emergency situation was operated completely by hand. Under the old system, SNM was listed (using pencil and paper) and then visually compared to an up-to-date computer printout of the book inventory. Under the new system, the listing process has been automated using bar-code technology and all comparisons are done on a personal computer. The components of the EIS are easily transported to any area of the plant where an inventory might have to be taken. The easy-to-use, menu-driven programming for the system is written in a widely used database management language that is standardized and easily upgraded. The EIS has been in use for over a year and has functioned quite satisfactorily. The benefits realized from the system are improved speed and accuracy of an emergency inventory, thus enhancing the safeguarding of the plant's SNM by more quickly determining if there is any unaccounted for material in an emergency situation. This paper discusses the development, operation, hardware, and software of the EIS