Updated guide to nuclear material detection

An open-access book published by the Safeguards Science and Technology group at Los Alamos National Laboratory describes techniques used to nondestructively measure the presence of uranium and plutonium in a variety of settings.

People, organizations and agencies working in nuclear safeguards and security use these techniques to

• detect and deter clandestine nuclear weapons programs,
• prevent insider attempts to steal nuclear materials,
• support safeguards conducted by the International Atomic Energy Agency under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

The 735-page book is a substantial revision to Passive Nondestructive Assay of Nuclear Materials — the so-called PANDA manual — that has been a classic reference since 1991. The new edition, Nondestructive Assay of Nuclear Materials for Safeguards and Security, can be downloaded for free as a PDF through Springer.

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Why this matters: The book’s extensive revisions are of interest to practitioners in the field of safeguarding and securing nuclear materials, including inspectors, operators and trainers.

• For this second edition, the editors drew on their vast international experience and engaged the help of their Los Alamos colleagues, as well as other national labs and organizations.
• The expanded reference covers modern approaches and technologies to nondestructively measure nuclear material.
• Nuclear data values have been updated.

Funding: This work, which supports the Lab’s global security mission, was funded by the DOE/NNSA offices of NA-241 (Office of International Nuclear Safeguards) and NA-211 (Office of International Nuclear Security). 

LA-UR 25-20454