Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09UNVIEVIENNA259
2009-06-05 10:01:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
UNVIE
Cable title:  

IAEA/SAFEGUARDS: HIGHLIGHTS OF 2009 U.S. SUPPORT PROGRAM

Tags:  IAEA OTRA KNNP TRGY AORC 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHUNV #0259/01 1561001
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 051001Z JUN 09
FM USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA
TO RUEHVI/AMEMBASSY VIENNA 1354
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9541
RHEBAAA/USDOE WASHDC
RUEANFA/NRC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/DOD WASHDC
UNCLAS UNVIE VIENNA 000259 

STATE FOR IO/T, ISN/MNSA - COCKERHAM, RAGSDALE
ISN/NESS - BURKART
DOE FOR NA24, NA-241 - SIEMON/O'CONNOR/LAMONTAGNE; NA-243 -
GOOREVICH; NA-242 - MALLIN
NRC FOR NMSS - AQUILAR, MARSHALL; OIP - SCHWARTZMAN, MDOANE
DOD FOR ELBERT, KILLIAN, HOWE
PASS TO BROOKHAVEN NATIONAL LABORATORY FOR PEPPER

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: IAEA OTRA KNNP TRGY AORC
SUBJECT: IAEA/SAFEGUARDS: HIGHLIGHTS OF 2009 U.S. SUPPORT PROGRAM
ANNUAL REVIEW MEETING

REF: STATE 48677

-------
Summary
-------

UNCLAS UNVIE VIENNA 000259

STATE FOR IO/T, ISN/MNSA - COCKERHAM, RAGSDALE
ISN/NESS - BURKART
DOE FOR NA24, NA-241 - SIEMON/O'CONNOR/LAMONTAGNE; NA-243 -
GOOREVICH; NA-242 - MALLIN
NRC FOR NMSS - AQUILAR, MARSHALL; OIP - SCHWARTZMAN, MDOANE
DOD FOR ELBERT, KILLIAN, HOWE
PASS TO BROOKHAVEN NATIONAL LABORATORY FOR PEPPER

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: IAEA OTRA KNNP TRGY AORC
SUBJECT: IAEA/SAFEGUARDS: HIGHLIGHTS OF 2009 U.S. SUPPORT PROGRAM
ANNUAL REVIEW MEETING

REF: STATE 48677

--------------
Summary
--------------


1. (SBU) The U.S. Support Program (USSP) annual review meeting with
the IAEA Department of Safeguards (SG) highlighted the new and
ongoing 2008-2009 SG R&D Programme projects for which U.S. and other
Member State support has been or will be requested. The overarching
theme was the on-going shift from accountancy-based safeguards to
"information-driven safeguards," which is seen as essential for
positioning the Agency to provide more credible assurances about the
absence of undeclared nuclear activities. Discussions included
strategies for planning, training, and recruiting to achieve the
systemic, cultural and technological change needed to facilitate
this shift. Other key themes included implementing knowledge
management approaches to compensate for the high turnover due to
retirement and the IAEA's rotation policy; developing or acquiring
new tools and systems for information collection, analysis (a
linchpin for "information-driven" safeguards),management; new
inspection tools to help the IAEA detect unreported materials and
activities; and automating remote inspections. The common theme
evident in discussions with all IAEA SG divisions was human
resources-related, i.e., issues associated with recruiting,
training, and retaining quality staff members. (Comment: Despite
inquiries from the U.S. delegation, it remains unclear why SG did
not make a human resource focus a bigger priority in its 2010-2011
Program and Budget proposal.) End Summary.

--------------
Background
--------------


2. (U) The USSP meets annually with IAEA Safeguards Department (SG)
officials and staff to exchange information about the status of
major SG projects to which the U.S. contributes substantially

through direct and "in-kind" support. In this year's May 18 - 20
meeting, SG participation consisted mainly of support division staff
members, who are principally in charge of Safeguards R&D tasks. The
U.S. delegation consisted of the Subgroup on Safeguards Techical
Support, SSTS (made up of representatives from the Departments of
State, Energy, Defense, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission),
which makes the funding decisions for the USSP; representatives from
the International Safeguards Project Office (ISPO) at Brookhaven
National Laboratory, which administers the day-to-day operations of
the USSP and monitors USSP tasks; one representative from NNSA's
Office of Nonproliferation Research and Development (NA-22);
contractor representatives from various DOE laboratories and the
private sector; and UNVIE MsnOffs. Some of the laboratory
representatives gave technology briefings, which were well attended
by Safeguards staff. This cable reports highlights of the meeting;
the full agenda and presentations are available from ISPO (POC:
Susan Pepper, pepper@bnl.gov).

--------------
Opening Remarks
--------------


3. (U) Opening remarks were made by UNVIE Ambassador Schulte; Olli
Heinonen, Deputy Director General for Safeguards; Nikolai
Khlebnikov, Safeguards Technical Support (SGTS) Director; and
William O'Connor, DOE/NNSA, Chair of the SSTS. Ambassador Schulte
opened the meeting by emphasizing U.S. commitment to continued
extrabudgetary support and plans for making a significant increase
in the IAEA regular budget. He spoke of strengthening safeguards,
including via the need for universal adherence to the Additional
Protocol, and via "information-driven safeguards."


4. (U) Heinonen also cited information-driven safeguards and the
need for tools to detect undeclared activities. He said the new
tools have to work differently than before to address the expanding
Safeguards missions, to manage Safeguards data and to equip new
facilities coming under safeguards. Inspection planning should be
targeted toward keeping inspectors on the ground where needed, but
automating many of the routine elements of inspection and moving
toward remote inspection activity as much as possible, noting that
the unpredictable timing of remote inspections enhanced their value
as deterrents to cheating.



5. (U) Heinonen and the Divisions of Safeguards Information
Management (SGIM) and Safeguards Concepts and Planning (SGCP) are
working to organize departmental processes and procedures, IT
systems, and other tools to optimize the information-driven
safeguards approach. Jill Cooley, Director of SGCP, in her
presentation on the State Level Approach, acknowledged that the
Secretariat is still at the stage where the term "information-driven
safeguards" (IDS) may mean different things to different people.
She said that to her, IDS is the use of all available SG-relevant
information to "plan, conduct, and evaluate activities and identify
follow-up actions." This works in a continuous feedback loop to
update the evaluation of each State.


6. (SBU) Khlebnikov underscored the USSP as the oldest, largest and
most comprehensive support program. He emphasized the need for R&D
efforts to develop safeguards equipment needed to fully automate
remote inspections; the need to develop software to manage the
increased amount of information that is being collected; and the
need to standardize and fully integrate equipment. (Comment: Fully
automated inspections and other information management tools would
help the Safeguards Department cope with significant increases over
the last two decades in the amount of nuclear material and the
number of facilities under Safeguards, and with its expanded
missions, e.g., information analysis and planning under the
Additional Protocol. See reftel for further discussion of this
issue. End Comment.)

--------------
USSP Safeguards Equipment Developments
--------------


7. (U) SG officials and staff were clearly appreciative of the
sustained USSP support for equipment development, expertise, and
training. The USSP-supported roadmapping workshops that bring
together SG customers with technology developers and suppliers are
an effective way for SG managers and staff to assess needs in a
targeted area, systematically categorize the problems and identify
technology gaps -- as well as promising solutions -- and recommend
steps forward. SG officials did express concern, however, over the
negative impact that unexpected developments with U.S. contractors
can have on completion of Agency tasks. For example, recently, a
U.S. contractor experienced a loss of key personnel resulting in a
six month delay in the development of the Next Generation
Surveillance System (NGSS),an important IAEA project, which is a
joint venture of the USSP and the German Support Program.


8. (U) Heinonen and other IAEA officials thanked the USSP for its
generous support to development of the NGSS, a project that will
cost the USSP over $3 million, and other containment and
surveillance activities, and they expressed appreciation for U.S.
flexibility in working with the IAEA. (The USSP has historically
developed containment and surveillance equipment that meets unique
IAEA communication security and tamper indication requirements,
because other users with similar needs are rare. The vendors for
this equipment must be ready to serve small markets successfully.)
They believe this type of support will always be needed to maintain
effective accountancy-based safeguards.
-

9. (SBU) The IAEA and the USSP noted a number of successes that were
marked at the annual Task Review Meeting in April. However,
O'Connor noted that a number of tasks are experiencing technical
problems and administrative delays that have the attention of the
SSTS and the USSP. Steps are being taken, when possible, to
facilitate the completion of these tasks.


10. (SBU) O'Connor emphasized that the USSP continues to monitor
progress and requirements associated with the IAEA's Safeguards
Analytical Laboratory (SAL) in order to help ensure a coordinated
U.S. support effort. The USSP recently approved funding for
continued development of the SAL Laboratory Information Management
System (ILIMS). USSP funding was also approved for consultant David
Swindle to act as an independent consultant to the IAEA's project
"Enhancing Capabilities of the Safeguards Analytical Services"
(ECAS). IAEA officials noted their appreciation for Mr. Swindle's
contribution and judged he is uniquely qualified to assist the IAEA
on this critical issue. (Note: Because many of the ISPO and SSTS
delegates had never visited SAL, a half-day tour of the laboratories
was provided. SAL officials presented an overview of SAL facilities

and capabilities; briefly discussed the ILIMS project, and gave a
walking tour of the Clean Lab, the SIMS Lab, and the Nuclear
Materials Laboratory. End Note.)

--------------
Next Generation Safeguards Initiative
--------------


11. (SBU) SSTS Member Steve LaMontagne (NNSA) provided two briefings
on DOE/NNSA's Next Generation Safeguards Initiative (NGSI),the
first an overview of the NGSI program plan, funded in FY2009 with
$42 Million, and the second an overview of selected technology
projects. (Comment: Although the IAEA has been briefed a number of
times on the NGSI program and senior IAEA safeguards officials
attended a formative NGSI meeting last fall, a question remains in
the minds of IAEA officials -- as well as in Mission -- as to how
NGSI will interact with the Safeguards Department, and in particular
the relationship between NGSI and the USSP in that regard. Mission
looks forward to working closely with DOE/NNSA, the USSP, and the
IAEA to develop a process forNGSI and USSP interactions with the
Secretariat that ensures a well-coordinated and effective channel
for advancing U.S. strengthened safeguards priorities. End
Comment.)

--------------
Human Resources and Knowledge Management
--------------


12. (U) In 2008, the USSP responded to IAEA requests and sponsored
eighteen cost free experts (CFEs) and ten junior professional
officers (JPOs). The USSP provides this support to the IAEA to
assist with short-term projects in areas where the IAEA does not
have in-house expertise or to enable experienced staff to address
more complex issues. During their assignments the CFEs and JPOs
also gain valuable experience in IAEA tools and methods and new
technologies. The USSP was happy to hear that the IAEA recognizes
this value and expertise; for example, during the last year the
Agency hired four of the CFEs and JPOs into regular IAEA staff
positions.


13. (SBU) Many of the SG presentations highlighted issues associated
with recruiting, training, and retaining quality staff members, and
preserving key knowledge before a staff member leaves. An acute
shortage of staff is in the information analysis area. Jacques
Baute, director of SGIM, stated that this is not only a numbers
issue, but finding, or in his word, "brewing," the right mix of
skills and expertise. SGCP initiated a pilot knowledge management
exercise, based on which it will develop a more comprehensive effort
to capture the knowledge of retiring staff. The SG training section
has undertaken a study with the French Support Program to
characterize the soft-skill competency profiles for inspectors in
the various jobs of procedure-based activities, complementary
access, and reporting. Many of the skills can be improved by
training, but others are innate and difficult to teach. For these
innate skills, the IAEA needs to use improved recruiting techniques
to find suitable candidates. In wrap-up discussions, USSP officials
declared that they will follow up with SG officials to find out more
about the skills and expertise now needed and envisioned for
Safeguards.

--------------
IAEA and USSP Strategic Planning Efforts
--------------


14. (SBU) SG reported on its long-term strategic planning exercise,
which was initiated in 2008 and planned for completion at the end of

2009. To date, the only product is a review of the external
environment that may affect the future of IAEA safeguards. Thus,
relatively little has been accomplished on this important task.
(DDG Heinonen, who initiated the long-term strategic planning effort
and is heavily invested in producing a useful outcome, told MsnOff
that the first phase of the report is due to him in early June.)
There is also some unease with the fact that Member States have not
been engaged in the process, and it is unknown how much of the plan
might be shared with them. (Comment: Mission notes related U.S.
efforts, that would benefit from improved coordination, including
USSP Strategic Planning and elaboration of NGSI. Further, Mission
fears that lack of communication in this area might make future
Member State cooperation and buy-in to the strategic plan more

difficult, and will be working with the appropriate safeguards
officials to help facilitate appropriate member state insight. End
Comment.)


15. (U) O'Connor informed the IAEA that the SSTS and ISPO are also
currently involved in strategic planning and working toward a more
results-based approach. A one-day meeting was convened on May 21 to
discuss and incorporate some results of the USSP Annual Meeting into
the strategic plan, and to define short-term goals and action plans.
The discussion also took into account Heinonen's stated priority to
devote more resources to strengthening the effectiveness of efforts
to address undeclared activities; some such resources might be
generated by improving the efficiency of routine safeguards
activities. USSP priority areas -- all of which are consistent with
the IAEA focus on undeclared activities -- are Human Resources,
Quality Management Improvement, Information Management, Training,
and Concepts and Approaches.

--------------
U.S. Delegation Comment
--------------


16. (U) USSP officials were pleased with the outcome of the meeting.
Overall, the meeting was very useful for the exchange of
information and the maintenance of contacts for effective
implementation of USSP projects to the IAEA. The SSTS was
particularly impressed with the quality of the presentations from
and interaction with SGIM. End Comment.



SCHULTE





UNCLASSIFIED