US/Russia government-to-government cooperation in material protection, control and accounting at the SSC-RIAR, Dimitrovgrad

The US/Russia Government-to-Government Cooperation in Material Protection, Control, and Accounting (MPC and A) was established in an agreement between the Department of Defense of the US and the Ministry of the russian Federation for Atomic Energy (MINATOM). A subsequent agreement between the Department of Energy (DOE) and MINATOM, resulted in the selection of the State Scientific Center-Research Institute of Atomic Reactors (SSC-RIAR) in Dimitrovgrad as one of the Russian enterprises that would participate with US national laboratories in expanded cooperation aimed at enhancing MPC and A systems in both countries. The SSC-RIAR facilities under consideration for MPC and A enhancements consist of a reactor building, a fuel fabrication building, and a storage building. The long term goal of this project is the completion of a comprehensive implementation plan, and its subsequent execution, addressing key MPC and A elements for all, or as many as possible, facilities at SSC-RIAR containing appreciable amounts of highly enriched uranium and plutonium. This paper describes the nature and scope of the expanded cooperation involving SSC-RIAR and six US national laboratories.