Digital Commons Network^™

Table Of Contents

International Journal of Nuclear Security

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Editor

International Journal of Nuclear Security

No abstract provided.

Nuclear Power: Black Sky Liability Or Black Sky Asset?, Sherrell R. Greene

International Journal of Nuclear Security

Ready access to abundant electricity is a key enabler of modern life. During the past decade the vulnerability of Critical Infrastructure sectors in the U.S. to a variety of natural hazards and man-made threats has become increasingly apparent. The electrical infrastructure (the “Grid”) is the foundation for all other critical civil infrastructures upon which our society depends. Therefore, protection of the Grid is an energy security, homeland security, and national security issue of highest importance. Geomagnetic disturbances (GMD) induced by solar coronal mass ejections (CMEs), electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attacks, and cyber attacks are three events having the potential to plunge …

Implementation Of The 1995 Middle East Resolution: A Vital Lifeline To The Extension And Success Of The Non-Proliferation Treaty, Haidy Y. Ghoname, Howard Lewis Hall

International Journal of Nuclear Security

This study highlights the core non-proliferation dilemmas we face and suggests an effective mechanism for reviving the spirit and the hope of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. An indispensable key to the treaty calls for a rethinking of what we believe should be referred to as its four pillars: disarmament, non-proliferation, peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and implementation of the 1995 Middle East Resolution. We seek to contribute to the renaissance of the non-proliferation regime by addressing seven dilemmas that arise from the way various Non-Proliferation Treaty participants pursue the goals of the four pillars undergirding the treaty. This study highlights …

Modern Advancements In Post-Detonation Nuclear Forensic Analysis, S. Adam Stratz, Jonathan A. Gill, John D. Auxier Ii, Howard L. Hall

International Journal of Nuclear Security

Deterring nuclear terrorism is a critical national asset to support the preclusion of non-state actors from initiating a nuclear attack on the United States. Successful attribution of a detonated nuclear weapon allows for timely responsive measures that prove essential in the period following a nuclear event. In conjunction with intelligence and law enforcement evidence, the technical nuclear forensics (TNF) post-detonation community supports this mission through the development and advancement of expertise to characterize weapon debris through a rapid, accurate, and detailed approach. Though the TNF field is young, numerous strides have been made in recent years toward a more robust …

Evaluation Of Covert Plutonium Production From Unconventional Uranium Sources, Ondrej Chvala, Steven Skutnik, Tyrone Christopher Harris, Emily Anne Frame

International Journal of Nuclear Security

The potential for a relatively non-advanced nation to covertly acquire a significant quantity of weapons-grade plutonium using a gas-cooled, natural uranium-fueled reactor based on relatively primitive early published designed is evaluated in this article. The economic and technical issues that would influence the design decisions of a covert ²³⁹Pu production program are considered.

Several unconventional uranium acquisition approaches were explored. Methods for extracting uranium from enrichment tails, seawater, and coal ash sources were considered. The evaluation indicated that uranium extraction from coal ash or insitu leaching from underground deposits could be performed in economical manner that might be difficult …

Student Competition Cover

International Journal of Nuclear Security

No abstract provided.

Addressing The Tunnel Threat At Nuclear Facilities: A Case Study, Md. Mobasher Ahmed

International Journal of Nuclear Security

No abstract provided.

Improving Nuclear Safety, Security, And Nonproliferation In Northeast Asia Through Multinational Approach, Viet Phuong Nguyen

International Journal of Nuclear Security

No abstract provided.

Prospects For Cooperation On Tackling Nuclear And Radiological Terrorism In South Asia: India–Pakistan Nuclear Detection Architecture, Muhammad Umer Khan

International Journal of Nuclear Security

No abstract provided.

Janus Realized: The Use Of Social Media As A Means Of Transparency Nuclear Communication To The Public, Frances Bachstein

International Journal of Nuclear Security

No abstract provided.

Legal And Regulatory Framework Of Nuclear Security In Indonesia, Dahlia Cakrawati Sinaga

International Journal of Nuclear Security

Nuclear security is one of the most important topics for regulatory purposes in Indonesia. Nuclear security measures exist to prevent, detect, and respond to unauthorized removal of radioactive material and the sabotage of nuclear and radiation facilities. Indonesia participates in bilateral and multilateral cooperation and international events such as the Nuclear Security Summit. Indonesia has also ratified several international instruments related to nuclear security. Based on commitment to international events and ratification, Indonesia has developed nuclear security infrastructures by strengthening legislation and regulation, enhancing building capacity, and strengthening equipment and facilities. Badan Pengawas Tenaga Nuklir (BAPETEN) is Indonesia’s nuclear energy …

Modified Fault Tree Method For Vulnerability Analysis Of Nuclear Medicine Facility Security System Case Study: Radiotherapy Facility, Sardjito General Hospital, Haryono Budi Santosa

International Journal of Nuclear Security

Assessing the vulnerability of physical protection systems (PPS) in nuclear medicine facilities is needed to prevent a security incident that could lead to the malicious use of nuclear material. Theft and sabotage of nuclear materials is becoming globally recognized. The current methods of assessing vulnerability tend to be oriented toward complex nuclear security; consequently, it is excessive to use such methods in simple facilities (i.e., radiotherapy facilities in hospitals).

The fault tree analysis is a method to assess vulnerability for a simple nuclear facility. The method’s primary events (i.e., basic events and undeveloped events) are able to accommodate fault causes …

Nuclear Security Culture And Batan’S Assessment: Batan’S Experience, Anhar R. Antariksawan

International Journal of Nuclear Security

Organizations should increase safety to minimize the harmful effects of nuclear materials. Additionally, organizations should take measures to protect security culture within the organization itself. This paper covers the National Nuclear Energy Agency of Indonesia’s (BATAN’s) promotion of nuclear security culture and self- assessment projects, which is based on the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) methodology.

Table Of Contents

International Journal of Nuclear Security

No abstract provided.

From The Editor’S Desk

International Journal of Nuclear Security

No abstract provided.

Nuclear Security Risk Analysis: An Insider-Outsider Collusion Scenario, Mohammad A. Hawila, Sunil S. Chirayath

International Journal of Nuclear Security

This study analyses the vulnerability of the physical protection system (PPS) deployed at a hypothetical facility. The PPS is designed to prevent and eliminate threats to nuclear materials and facilities. The analysis considers possible outsider and insider threats. A modified adversary sequence diagram (ASD) evaluates threat pathways to test an insider-outsider collusion case. The ASD also measures the probability of adversary interruption by demonstrating the methodology for a typical nuclear facility.

Opportunities And Challenges In Developing Nuclear Security In Africa, James Larkin Mfr

International Journal of Nuclear Security

Those involved in nuclear security recognize that regions of significant instability in Africa have an impact on the safety and security of the continent's nuclear material and un-enriched uranium; however, some countries outside of continental Africa have taken counterproductive approaches to this issue. Despite challenges, the nuclear security community continues to develop and apply appropriate levels of nuclear security where needed. The community also takes every opportunity to make significant contributions to the global discourse on nuclear security culture.

Characteristics Of Thick Concrete Neutron Reflection, Richard Gordon Taylor

Doctoral Dissertations

Water is considered as a neutron reflector in nuclear criticality safety evaluations because it is readily available and easily forms a close-fitting shape around fissile material. Concrete is commonly encountered industrial environments and can be a more effective reflector than water. Nuclear criticality safety literature reporting experimental and analytical studies involving concrete as a reflector from the 1950’s to the present was reviewed. Nuclear criticality safety community perspective on concrete reflection has evolved from acknowledgement that concrete is a reflector through recognition that concrete can be a more effective reflector than water to current interest in identifying which constituents are …

Deterministic Neutron Transport And Multiphysics Experimental Safety Analyses At The High Flux Isotope Reactor, Christopher James Hurt

Doctoral Dissertations

The computational ability to accurately predict the conditions in an experiment under irradiation is a valuable tool in the operation of a research reactor whose scientific mission includes isotope production, materials irradiation, and neutron activation analysis. Understanding of different governing physics is required to ascertain satisfactory conditions within the experiment: the neutron transport behavior throughout the reactor and the coupled behavior of heat transfer, structural mechanics and fluid flow. Computational methods and tools were developed for robust numerical analysis of experiment behavior at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR), including fully-coupled thermo-mechanics in three plutonium-238 …

Development, Synthesis, And Analysis Of Surrogate Post-Detonation Nuclear Melt Glass, Andrew Vincent Giminaro

Doctoral Dissertations

With the threats facing the world today, there is an ever-increasing need for training the the fields of radiochemistry and nuclear forensics. Training and research in these fields requires reference materials that accurately represent materials that could potentially be encountered. Unfortunately, many of the historical samples of debris from nuclear weapons tests remains classified. Because of this, there is a need for realistic surrogates. This research focuses on the development of surrogates for the bulk and particulate nuclear melt glass that is expected to be found in an urban setting after a nuclear event.

A mathematical model for the creation …

Beta-Delayed Neutron Data And Models For Scale, Kemper Dyar Talley

Doctoral Dissertations

Recent advancements in experimental and theoretical nuclear physics have yielded new data and models that more accurately describe the decay of fission products compared to historical data currently used for many applications. This work examines the effect of the adopting the Effective Density Model theory for beta-delayed neutron emission probability on calculations of delayed-neutron production and fission product nuclide concentrations after fission bursts as well as the total delayed neutron fraction in comparison with the Keepin 6-group model. We use ORIGEN within the SCALE code package for these calculations. We show quantitative changes to the isotopic concentrations for fallout nuclides …

Algorithms And Methods For Optimizing The Spent Nuclear Fuel Allocation Strategy, Gordon Matthew Petersen

Doctoral Dissertations

Commercial nuclear power plants produce long-lasting nuclear waste, primarily in the form of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) assemblies. Spent fuel pools (SFP) and canisters or casks that sit at an independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) at the reactor site store the fuel assemblies that are removed from operating reactors. The federal government has developed a plan to move the SNF from reactor sites to a Consolidated Interim Storage Facility (CISF) or a geological repository. In order to develop a predictable pick-up schedule and give utilities notice of an impending pickup from a reactor site, the federal government developed a …

Development Of Instrumentation And Control Systems For An Integral Large Scale Pressurized Water Reactor, Matthew Rowland Morrow Lish

Doctoral Dissertations

Small and large scale integral light water reactors are being developed to supply electrical power and to meet the needs of process heat, primarily for water desalination. This dissertation research focuses on the instrumentation and control of a large integral inherently safe light water reactor (designated as I²S-LWR) which is being designed as part of a grant by the U.S. Department of Energy Integrated Research Project (IRP). This 969 MWe integral pressurized water reactor (PWR) incorporates as many passive safety features as possible while maintaining competitive costs with current light water reactors. In support of this work, the …

Preliminary Investigation For The Development Of Surrogate Debris From Nuclear Detonations In Marine-Urban Environments, Adam G. Seybert

Masters Theses

No nuclear weapon has ever been detonated in a United States city. However, this also means the nuclear forensic community has no actual debris from which to develop analytical methods for source attribution, making the development of surrogate nuclear debris a vital undertaking. Moreover, the development of marine-urban debris presents an unusual challenge because unlike soil and urban structures, which remain compositionally consistent, the elemental composition of harbor and port waters fluctuates considerably due to natural phenomenon and human activity. Additionally, marine vessel composition and cargo can vary dramatically. While early US nuclear tests were carried out in shallow-water coastal …

Proton Therapy Facility Shielding, Hadyn M. Daugherty, Isaac C. Waaldschlager, Daniel S. Elkins, Alyxandria Wszolek, Rachel N. Gaudet

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Accelerator Shielding For A Bee Hive Irradiator, Robert F. Turner, Matthew O'Neil, Victoria Martin, Saya Rutherford, Danielle Mcfall, Ali Buhamad

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

A Bayesian Approach To Aerial Localization Of Radioactive Sources, Robert Blake Wilkerson

Masters Theses

Securing nuclear material has become an important area for the safety of the U.S. and other countries. Within nuclear security, there is a potential to use orphaned or stolen radioactive sources to cause harm. As the amount of radioisotopes used by government and commercial businesses increases, the need to secure these sources becomes exponentially more difficult. It is well known that there have been several cases of lost, orphaned or stolen nuclear sources across the globe. There is a need for state-of-the-art radiation search methods to search for these potentially dangerous radioactive sources that could be misplaced. While there are …

Ijns Masthead

International Journal of Nuclear Security

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Editor - Choe, Kwan Kyoo Choe

International Journal of Nuclear Security

No abstract provided.