Training

The training on the operation of the neutron collar took place in Rio de Janeiro on May 11 through 13, with the participation of 13 Brazilian inspectors. The program included a theoretical class, in which the neutron collar theory was introduced, along with the use of the Inspector Neutron Coincidence Code (INCC) program, plus a practical class performed at the Factory of Fuel Elements (FCN) of Indústrias Nucleares do Brasil (INB) in Resende, where the inspectors performed the assembly of the unit, standardization and background measurements, and measuring exercises in a fuel element. The Argentinean section of the course was carried out in Buenos Aires on June 1 through 3, with the participation of ten Argentine inspectors. The same program was used and the practical section was held at the facilities of CONUAR’s (Combustibles Nucleares Argentinos) factory of fuel elements.

Between June 27 and July 1, ABACC introduced a new course in San Pablo for the training of Argentine inspectors in the unannounced inspections that are made at the facilities of ARAMAR and of the Institute of Energy and Nuclear Research (IPEN). The program included an introduction to the procedures for unannounced inspections, the performance of surveillance activities and neutron and gamma measurements in a mock up, simulating the situation at the plant, and ended up with an analysis and evaluation of results, in addition to a visit to the perimeter of the ARAMAR facilities. The trainers in the course were from the United States Department of Energy (DOE), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Brazilian National Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN), the Technological Center of the Navy in Sao Paulo (CTMSP) and the ABACC, while eight inspectors of the ABACC and four from the IAEA were trained.

The “Regional Course on National Systems for Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials” was performed between August 22 and September 2, and was in charge of the IAEA, with the cooperation of the CNEN and the ABACC. The instructors were professionals from the IAEA, the ABACC, the CNEN, Argentina, Brazil, Hungary and Peru, while the participants were from Mexico, Panama, Argentina, Brazil, Guatemala, Cuba, Chile, Venezuela, Haiti and Ecuador. The program dealt with the history and the legal structure of international safeguards, requirements for the national safeguards systems, with a description of the model of the Additional Protocol to safeguards agreements, demonstration on the equipment for non-destructive measurements and workshops on the preparation of reports for the IAEA, verification of the Design Information Questionnaire, preparation of the statements under the Additional Protocol and definition of national systems, both at the national and at the operator’s level. The program did also include the presentation of the Hungarian and the Peruvian experiences in the application of the Additional Protocol and a demonstration on the prospects for the application of this Protocol in Brazil and Argentina, followed by a round table in which opinions were exchange on this topic. During the first week, the course took place at INB’s Factory of Nuclear Fuel, followed by a visit to the Angra II Nuclear Power Plant, and, during the second week, the training was performed in Rio de Janeiro.