Development of integrated containment and surveillance system for fast critical facility FCA. Portal and penetration monitors

摘要

Manpower and radiation exposure problems, accompanied by frequent Non Destructive Assay (NDA) based inspections at the Fast Critical Facility FCA of Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI), are a burden for both the inspectorates and the facility operator. In the hope of alleviating these burdens, the development of containment and surveillance measures for the FCA was initiated in 1979. The integrated containment and surveillance system consists of a portal monitor and a penetration monitor. The reactor building provides an ideal containment measure because of its explosion-proof, airtight structure and limited number of penetrations. The function of the portal monitor is to detect undeclared removal of nuclear material from the reactor building through the doorway. The penetration monitor is designed for surveillance of diversion routes through containment boundaries, and of safeguards related activities for bypassing the portal monitor. The combination of monitoring by the penetration monitor of containment boundaries and all their penetrations except for the doorway, and monitoring by the portal monitor, provides complete coverage of realistic diversion routes. The development of the system was completed in 1988 and the field trial test was conducted for the period of twelve running months. The final report on the field trial was concluded on January 1990. The major conclusion of the report was that the system is effective, reliable and efficient. Following this successful conclusion, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) accepted the system for meeting its safeguards goals at the FCA on condition that an independent IAEA authentication equipment is provided. The development of the authentication equipment is accomplished as an separate Japan Support Programme for Agency Safeguards (JASPAS) task. (author)