Obninsk
Address: 1 ploshchad Bondarenko, Obninsk,
Kaluga Oblast 24902
Telephone: (08439) 98590; 95848; 97052
Fax: (095) 2302326; (095) 8833112
http://www.rmtc.ippe.obninsk.ru
In March 1994, the Russian Federation Ministry of
Atomic Energy (Minatom) decided to establish the Russian Methodological
Training Center (RMTC) at the Institute
of Physics and Power Engineering (IPPE) in Obninsk, Russia. In March 1995 an agreement was reached between
Minatom and Russia's nuclear regulatory
agency to share the facility as a state training
center.[1] On 4 November 1998 the RMTC was officially opened.[2] The
purpose of this center is to train Russian nuclear specialists in the area
of materials protection, control, and accounting (MPC&A).[1] Two other
principal tasks of the RMTC are to provide scientific and technical assistance
to companies and facilities that develop MPC&A techniques and
to test and evaluate methods and instrumentation for measuring nuclear
material mass and content.[3] The RMTC cooperates with two other training
institutes located in Obninsk: the Interdepartmental Special Training Center
(ISTC), which provides specialized physical protection training and the
State Central Institute for Continuing Education (SCI), which provides
logistical support and hosts conferences and symposia.[4] Over 140
specialists provide training at the Center, including 68 specialists from
the United States and the European Union. Of the Russian instructors a
quarter have doctoral degrees and more than half have undergone
special training in Europe and the United States.[2]
The RMTC provides 27
training
courses, subdivided into six series, which include
the following major MC&A topics: computerized accounting of
nuclear materials;
physical inventory taking of nuclear materials; methods and instrumentation;
computerization of MC&A; specific features of MC&A systems at various
types of facilities; inspection and verification procedures; measurement
equipment and devices; and the basis of nuclear safety when handling materials
during MC&A procedures.[1,2]
By 1 June 2000, 1,229 persons had attended RMTC courses
and seminars, including over 100 GAN inspectors, over 400 specialists from
Minatom and other Russian nuclear facilities, and approximately 15 specialists
from other Newly Independent States.[3,5]
In addition to providing instruction, the RMTC investigates, tests, and evaluates new approaches to nuclear materials
accounting and control; participates in the development, transfer, and
implementation of new MC&A technologies to nuclear facilities; helps to
develop new state regulations in the area of MC&A; and organizes
international seminars and meetings of nuclear experts.[1]
The DOE's Los Alamos, Brookhaven, Sandia, Pacific Northwest,
and Oak Ridge national laboratories, as well as Institutes of the European Commission Joint Research Center (ISIS
and ITU) are involved in this program and send their specialists to the RMTC to aid in MPC&A instruction.[2]
In addition, the DOE has sent technical documents and publications
regarding MPC&A methods to the RMTC and has provided equipment
for the RMTC training laboratories. Future collaboration between the RMTC
and the DOE will focus on phasing out the US instructors (who were primarily
teaching the new RMTC instructors) and developing remote educational and
training capabilities so that MPC&A techniques and methods can be learned
by the largest number of people in the shortest amount of time. Options
for this kind of remote training include the use of CD-ROMs, videotapes,
mobile training teams, internet information dispersal, and satellite learning
centers.[4]
Click here to see a brochure
with images and text in English and Russian brochure (JPEG) describing
the RMTC and its work.
For more information on DOE
MPC&A efforts in the former Soviet Union please click here.
For a description of the MPC&A work being
performed at this site please see the
Department
of Energy's December 1997 document, United States/Former Soviet Union
Program of Cooperation on Nuclear Material Protection, Control, and Accounting:
Partnership for Nuclear Security. Additional information on RMTC
programs may be found in "Training
and Education Initiatives in the Former Soviet Union," a chapter in the
DOE's publication
United
States/ Former Soviet Union Program of Cooperation on Nuclear Material
Protection, Control, and Accounting: Partnership for Nuclear Security.
RMTC
has six training laboratories
COMPUTERIZED CONTROL AND ACCOUNTING LABORATORY
This laboratory consists of two computer classrooms,
equipped with computers, software, and Internet access.
NON-DESTRUCTIVE ASSAY (NDA) LABORATORY
The NDA laboratory has the following equipment:
gamma-spectrometers for determining uranium and plutonium isotopic
composition, active and passive neutron coincidence counters, and a system for measuring
plutonium mass in waste containers. In 2000 the RMTC was planning to install
a system for non-destructive assay of
uranium in fuel rods and assemblies.
SCALE CALIBRATION LABORATORY
This laboratory contains electronic weighting platforms, certified
weight standards, and related computer hardware and software.
BAR CODE TECHNIQUES LABORATORY
This laboratory contains equipment and software to apply,
read, and process barcode information.
TANK CALIBRATION LABORATORY
This laboratory will provide training in large volume tank calibration and
the development of related methodology.
CONTAINMENT AND SURVEILLANCE LABORATORY
This laboratory will be equipped with video surveillance and tamper-indicating
devices.
4/2000: RMTC NON-DESTRUCTIVE ASSAY LAB
UPGRADED
In April 2000 specialists from
Eurisys Mesures, a
subsidiary of France's Cogema, and RMTC installed a Eurisys-fabricated waste drum monitor and neutron
coincidence counters at the center's Non-Destructive Assay (NDA) laboratory.
The equipment will be used for plutonium waste assay. The equipment was
provided through the European Union's TACIS program.
Page last updated 2 February 2005
Contact Contact Cristina Chuen at MIIS CNS: Cristina.ChuenATmiis.edu
This material is produced independently for NTI
by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the
Monterey Institute of International Studies and
does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has
not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers,
employees, agents. Copyright © 2003 by MIIS.
HOME | CONTACT US | SITE MAP
Foreign Assistance
