The new design of the VACOSS-S/MIVS interface system

The Safeguards Inspectorates must expend considerable inspection effort to apply and remove seals on material under safeguards when it is shipped from one facility to another. A VACOSS/MIVS microprocessor interface Class III field evaluation unit, designed to eliminate the requirement for inspector presence, was developed under bilateral agreements between the US , the FRG, and Euratom, as well a under tasks carried out under the FRG and US programs in support of the IAEA. The unit was tested at the THTR nuclear power plant in Germany in 1990. The conclusions drawn from the test were to recommend the technique for safeguards implementation and to agree upon the design specifications of the Class IV production model. The VACOSS-S/MIVS Interface System integrates the Class IV production MIVS. The Class IV microprocessor interface system has the capability to communicate with the VACOSS-S interrogation unit which recognizes a request from the MIVS, interrogates the seal and sends the seal data to the MIVS. This paper describes the technical specifications of the Class IV production model of the VACOSS-S/MIVS Interface System.