Prescriptive concepts for advanced nuclear materials control and accountability systems

Networking- and distributed-processing hardware and software have the potential of greatly enhancing nuclear materials control and accountability (MC and A) systems, from both safeguards and process operations perspectives, while allowing timely integrated safeguards activities and enhanced computer security at reasonable cost. A hierarchical distributed system is proposed consisting of groups of terminal and instruments in plant production and support areas connected to microprocessors that are connected to either larger microprocessors or minicomputers. These micros and/or minis are connected to a main machine, which might be either a mainframe or a super minicomputer. Data acquisition, preliminary input data validation, and transaction processing occur at the lowest level. Transaction buffering, resource sharing, and selected data processing occur at the intermediate level. The host computer maintains overall control of the data base and provides routine safeguards and security reporting and special safeguards analyses. The research described outlines the distribution of MC and A system requirements in the hierarchical system and distributed processing applied to MC and A. Implications of integrated safeguards and computer security concepts for the distributed system design are discussed. 10 refs., 4 figs.