Materials Accounting at Los Alamos National Laboratory


Book Description

The materials accounting system at Los Alamos has evolved from an ''80-column'' card system to a very sophisticated near-real-time computerized nuclear material accountability and safeguards system (MASS). The present hardware was designed and acquired in the late 70's and is scheduled for a major upgrade in fiscal year 1986. The history of the system from 1950 through the DYMAC of the late 70's up to the present will be discussed. The philosophy of the system along with the details of the system will be covered. This system has addressed the integrated problems of management, control, and accounting of nuclear material successfully. 8 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab.




Nuclear Materials Accounting, Helping the Facility Operator


Book Description

A modern materials control and accounting (MC and A) system can provide major benefits to production personnel. It can enhance understanding of process systems performance, localize and reconcile material losses, and identify instruments that are out-of-calibration or malfunctioning. Examples of the above MC and A system applications are given. We show how Operations personnel can use an MC and A system to their advantage rather than letting the MC and A system take advantage of them.







Materials Management Division


Book Description










Security Features of a Nuclear Material Accounting System


Book Description

The Los Alamos Nuclear Material Accounting and Safeguards System (MASS) is a near-real-time accountability system for bulk materials, discrete items, and material undergoing dynamic processing. MASS has evolved from an eighty-column card based process control system to a very sophisticated computer system. The security of the MASS computer system is provide through various access controls. There are two kinds of access control to be addressed. They are physical access control to the hardware which make up the system, and access control to the software. There are many features which provide a measure of security to the hardware that will be discussed. Access to the software is controlled by a security password. Access to various transaction activities in the system is controlled through the level of MASS user privilege. Details of MASS user privilege will be discussed.




Materials Control and Accounting (MC and A)


Book Description

Nuclear materials control and accounting systems are subject to pressures of both regulatory and institutional natures. This fact, coupled with the emergence of new technology, is causing evolutionary changes in materials control and accounting systems. These changes are the subject of this paper.




Efficient Analysis of Dynamic Materials Accounting Data


Book Description

Current trends in safeguarding special nuclear materials (SNM) in nuclear fuel cycle facilities portend increasing emphasis on timely collection and analysis of materials accounting data. The availability of more and better data argues for an organized framework of techniques to ensure efficient and complete extraction of information concerning possible diversion of SNM. This paper describes such a framework and presents results obtained by analyzing simulated data from a large nuclear fuel cycle facility.




Data Analysis for Nuclear Materials Accounting


Book Description

Materials accounting for special nuclear material in future fuel cycle facilities will draw heavily on sophisticated data-analysis techniques. Decision analysis, which combines elements of estimation theory, decision theory, and systems analysis, can be used to reduce errors caused by subjective data evaluation and to condense large collections of data to a smaller set of more descriptive statistics. The methods and requirements of decision analysis are discussed and illustrated by a conceptual design example of an advanced materials accounting system for a plutonium nitrate-to-oxide conversion facility.