ABACC-IAEA technical cooperation meeting on the “ABACC-Cristallini” method and participation of the analytical laboratories of the ABACC Network in the IAEA intercomparison program
Between 9 and 13 September 2024, within the framework of cooperation with the IAEA, ABACC held meetings and visits with representatives of that organization, Mr. Steven Devry Balsley, Director of the Safeguards Analytical Laboratory and Mr. Georges Duhamel, Head of the Chemistry Team of the Nuclear Material Laboratory of the Safeguards Department.
The objective of the meeting was to discuss the ABACC-Cristallini method of UF6 sampling and the participation of Brazilian and Argentine laboratories that perform destructive analysis of nuclear material for application of SCCC by ABACC in the IAEA intercomparison exercises.
The initial meeting, with representatives from the Nuclear Regulatory Authority (ARN) and the Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA) of Argentina, the National Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN) of Brazil, the Nuclear Industries of Brazil – INB, and the Navy Technological Center of São Paulo – CTMSP, discussed the progress of the tests of the ABACC-Cristallini Method by the IAEA, carried out at different nuclear facilities around the world, within the scope of the IAEA’s safeguards support programs. The next steps of cooperation were defined aiming at the prompt implementation of the method in the facilities under safeguards of both countries and the participation of the laboratories in the intercomparison exercises carried out by the IAEA (Nuclear Material Round Robin – NMRORO).
ABACC highlighted the approval of the ABACC-Cristallini method in 2023 and its upcoming implementation for routine use in nuclear facilities in Argentina and Brazil. The IAEA highlighted the positive technical conclusion on the tests carried out for the acceptance of the method. The parties considered the next steps of cooperation between both agencies with a view to its joint application. Visits were made to the analytical laboratories of the ABACC network, and the results obtained in the last exercises and the continued participation in the next round of NMRORO were considered.