The European Commission (E.C.) has put out a request for proposals for a study of European Union (EU) security measures that are intended to prevent the diversion of nuclear materials from peaceful applications to military applications. The E.C. has a budget of twenty eight million and one hundred and sixty two nuclear inspectors. In 2012, the E.C. carried out over a thousand inspections and reviewed over a million and a half documents supplied by nuclear power plant operators. The request for proposals states that the E.C. needs an independent analysis of its procedures to "identify, suggest and document any possible improvements."
The independent reviewer would have the task of looking at concepts and methodology, reviewing procedures and the internal organization of the E.C., analyzing how the E.C. interacts with external entities that are involved and checking how effective E.C. evaluations are. "In all four aspects, focus is to be put on the efficiency of the use made of human and financial resources, while respecting the existing legal obligations under the Euratom Treaty and while maintaining the credibility and effectiveness of the Euratom safeguards system."
One of the main goals of the requested study is to see if the E.C. is doing all it can to prevent nuclear materials intended for power generation from being diverted to nuclear weapons programs. The study will suggest inspection priorities; compare different methods of determining the quality of nuclear materials, the quantity of nuclear materials and the type of nuclear facility, as well as how accessible nuclear materials are for verification of safeguards.
The study will analyze priorities with respect to inspection of critical facilities that enrich uranium, fabricate fuel assemblies and reprocess spent fuel; inspection of facilities where there have been problems with accounting for nuclear materials or control systems; and inspection of facilities where there appears to be a serious risk of theft or loss of nuclear materials.
The independent agency will review the internal organization and procedures of the E.C. with respect to how well they are meeting the E.C. mandate and suggest improvements for the system of accounting for nuclear materials in the E.U. Internal communication and cooperation between different sections of the E.C. will be analyzed including the inspection units, the nuclear safeguards unit, the radiation protection unit and the financial division.
With respect to the interaction of the E.C. with external agencies, the study will investigate liaison obligations covered by international agreements, bilateral and mutilateral. The E.C. is especially interested in enhancing cooperation between the E.C. and the Joint Research Centre, the International Atomic Energy Agency, E.U. members states and E.U. nuclear operators, and non-E.U. member countries are major suppliers of nuclear materials.
The proposal request should "propose revised safeguards implementation goals; revised concepts and principles; organizational modifications; and key performance indicators for future assessment of changes." The responses to the request for proposals are due by January 31, 2014.
