ABACC participated in the 66th Annual Meeting of the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management (INMM), held from August 24 to 28, 2024, in Washington, DC, United States.

ABACC had a significant presence and activity at the INMM Annual Meeting, participating as a speaker at the opening ceremony and in important panels and sessions, presenting its perspective on relevant areas of regional and international safeguards and its role in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

ABACC started its activities on August 24, presenting the most relevant highlights of the implementation of the Common System of Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials (SCCC) in Argentina and Brazil, since the last meeting of the Institute’s International Safeguards Division (ISD). It highlighted the implementation of verification plans and the positive conclusions reached during that period. Deputy Secretary, Mr. Marco Marzo, shared this update with Mr. Massimo Aparo, IAEA Deputy Director and Chief of Safeguards, and with other prominent speakers.

Mr. Marzo and Ms. Sonia Fernández Moreno, the Planning and Evaluation Officer of ABACC, co-chaired various sessions at the Meeting. Dr. Marzo participated in three key moments: the opening ceremony of the Annual Meeting, entitled “Safety, Security & Safeguards: Exploring the Opportunities & Challenges of Cross-Domain Collaboration,” emphasizing the importance of promoting a safeguards culture among operators and the synergy between the three areas. At the panel “International Safeguards for Maritime Nuclear Activities,” highlighting the importance of establishing special arrangements for nuclear propulsion and sharing the progress of the negotiations between Brazil, IAEA, and ABACC, as well as the specific characteristics of safeguards in these cases. At the panel “Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy, Science, and Technology – The Nexus between Articles III and IV of the NPT,” presenting his analysis of the balance of these issues, the importance of full cooperation, and his perspective on the upcoming Review Conference of the Treaty. Ms. Fernández Moreno presented the progress of the implementation of the ABACC-Cristallini UF6 sampling method to the specialized community, highlighting that ABACC is already routinely implementing the method and the cooperation with the IAEA continues in order to be approved and joint use of the method by both agencies in Argentina and Brazil. The paper, entitled “Implementation of the ABACC-Cristallini UF6 Sampling Method by ABACC and the Status of the IAEA Activities towards Routine Implementation,” was co-authored by Argentina, Brazil, the IAEA, and ABACC. It was a milestone for ABACC and the method’s conceiver, Dr. Osvaldo Cristallini, an Argentine radiochemist.

This meeting also served as an opportunity to highlight the 30 years of technical cooperation between ABACC and the United States Department of Energy and its National Laboratories, highlighting achievements in technologies for the accounting and control of nuclear materials and regional and international safeguards. Under the title “Reflecting on 30 Years of Cooperation and Partnership between the Brazilian-Argentine Agency for Accounting and Control of Nuclear Material (ABACC) and the Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA),” co-authored, the representatives of both institutions shared the positive results of this cooperation.

A milestone that deserves special mention to conclude this news, as it is a source of pride for ABACC and its member countries, Argentina and Brazil, is the INMM’s recognition of Mr. Marco Marzo, who was awarded the Vincent J. DeVito Distinguished Service Award (DSA), named after the former secretary of the Institute and awarded to individuals who have made outstanding and lasting contributions to the profession of nuclear materials management and safeguards. His extensive career, commitment, and professionalism in the area of ​​safeguards and nuclear materials accounting and control were deservedly recognized with the award.