Cooperative nonproliferation activities

Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) under DOE sponsorship is engaged in nuclear nonproliferation activities with the Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation (PNC) of Japan. From 1995 to the present SNL and PNC have been participating in a cooperative project to implement and assess the use of remote monitoring to achieve nuclear nonproliferation objectives. Implementation of remote monitoring at the PNC Joyo facility took place during 1996 and continues to date. An International Fellowship began in the Fall of 1995 and has complemented the nonproliferation study. Plans are underway to extend the Fellowship and to upgrade the existing Remote Monitoring System to include another area at the Joyo facility. SNL and PNC are currently exploring the possibility of exchanging experts with the objective of promoting regional confidence building in Northeast Asia, possibly using some of the same remote monitoring technologies. This paper will provide an overview of these activities and report on the status of cooperative nonproliferation activities being conducted by PNC and SNL.