Accounting system
1. Starting from the moment operators hold nuclear material, they shall maintain a system of accountancy and control for nuclear materials, which shall be effective in preventing, detecting and timely fixing irregularities leading to situations where nuclear material is incorrectly accounted for. This system shall include accounting and operating records and, in particular, information on the quantities, category, form and composition of nuclear materials as provided for in Article 21, their actual location and the particular safeguard obligation as provided for in Article 19, together with details of the recipient or shipper when nuclear materials are transferred.
2. The system of measurements on which the records are based shall comply with the most recent international standards or shall be equivalent in quality to those standards. On the basis of those records, it must be possible to draw up and substantiate all accounting declarations made to the Commission. All records related to nuclear materials shall be retained as long as the nuclear materials are present in the installation, and for at least 5 years after the nuclear materials stopped being present in the installation, unless agreed otherwise. Further details may be specified in the particular safeguard provisions referred to in Article 8 for each installation.
3. Accounting and operating records shall be made available in electronic form, if they are kept in this form by the installation. For installations referred to in Article 2, point (27)(a), an up-to-date list of inventory items shall be made available to the Commission’s inspectors in electronic form upon reasoned request, using the available information in accordance with the indicative format set out in Annex X.
Operating records
1. For each material balance area of an installation, the operating records shall include, where appropriate:
(a)
the operating data used to determine all changes in the quantities and composition of nuclear material present in the installation, including shipping documents for both received and shipped batches of nuclear material;
(b)
a list of inventory items and their location, kept up to date to the best extent possible;
(c)
the data, including derived estimates of random errors and systematic errors, obtained from the calibration of tanks and instruments as well as from sampling and analysis;
(d)
the data resulting from quality control measures applied to the nuclear material accountancy system, including derived estimates of random errors and systematic errors;
(e)
a description of the sequence of actions taken to prepare for, and take, a physical inventory, and to ensure that the inventory is correct and complete;
(f)
a description of the actions taken to recognise, investigate and solve nuclear material accountancy and control discrepancies that have arisen;
(g)
the results from inventory control procedures and, for bulk-handling installations, the results of the tests for acceptance of the material balance, taking into account justified measurement and process uncertainties;
(h)
a description of the actions taken to ascertain the cause and magnitude of any accidental or unmeasured loss that might have occurred;
(i)
the isotopic composition of plutonium, including its decay isotopes, and reference dates, if recorded at the installation for operational needs.
2. Original operating records shall be made available to the Commission’s inspectors, in electronic form if available. Upon a reasoned request and in compliance with Article 40(2), copies of operating records shall be communicated to the Commission, in electronic form if available. Upon a reasoned request by the operator, special arrangements concerning the form and transmission of the information may be agreed.
Accounting records
In respect of each material balance area, the accounting records shall contain the following:
(a)
all inventory changes, so that the book inventory can be determined at any time;
(b)
all measurement and counting results used to determine the physical inventory;
(c)
all corrections made to inventory changes, book inventories and physical inventories.
The accounting records relating to any inventory change and physical inventory shall include the material identification, batch data and source data for each batch. These records shall account separately for uranium, thorium and plutonium, in accordance with the categories listed in Article 21(2), point (b). In addition, for each inventory change, the date of the change and, when appropriate, the dispatching material balance area or the shipper and the receiving material balance area or the recipient shall be indicated.
Accounting reports
Starting from the moment operators hold nuclear material, they shall provide the Commission with accounting reports.
The accounting reports shall contain the information available on the date of reporting and must be corrected at a later date if necessary. Accounting reports shall be transmitted to the Commission electronically.
Upon a reasoned request, further details or explanations in connection with those accounting reports shall be provided to the Commission within 3 weeks or within a different agreed timeframe.
Initial book inventory
Any operator in the territory of a State acceding to the European Union shall provide the Commission, within 30 days of the date of entry into force of this Regulation in that State, with an initial book inventory of all nuclear materials it is holding, including nuclear materials previously considered as retained waste and nuclear materials previously exempted from IAEA safeguards, except nuclear material on which IAEA safeguards were terminated. The format set out in Annex V shall be used.
Inventory change report
1. Starting from the moment operators hold nuclear material and for each material balance area, they shall provide the Commission with inventory change reports in respect of all nuclear materials using the format set out in Annex III.
Unless otherwise specified in the particular safeguard provisions referred to in Article 8 for an installation, inventory change reports shall be sent monthly, at the latest 15 days after the end of the month, and shall state all inventory changes which have occurred or become known during that month.
2. For months in which a physical inventory is taken, and the physical inventory taking date is not the last day of the month, two separate inventory change reports shall be provided:
(a)
a first inventory change report containing any inventory changes up to and including the physical inventory taking date, which shall be sent at the latest, together with the second inventory change report, or together with the physical inventory listing and the material balance report if the latter are sent before the second inventory change report;
(b)
a second inventory change report containing all inventory changes from the first day after the physical inventory taking date to the end of the month, which shall be sent within 15 days of the end of the month.
3. For months in which no inventory changes occur, operators concerned shall send the inventory change report, carrying over the ending book inventory of the previous month.
4. In order that they may be reported as a single inventory change, small inventory changes, such as transfers of samples for purposes of analysis, may be grouped together, as laid down in the particular safeguard provisions referred to in Article 8 for the installation concerned.
5. Inventory change reports may be accompanied by comments explaining the inventory changes.
Material balance report and physical inventory listing
1. For each material balance area, operators shall transmit to the Commission:
(a)
material balance reports, in the format set out in Annex IV, indicating:
(i)
beginning physical inventory;
(ii)
inventory changes (first increases, then decreases);
(iii)
ending book inventory;
(iv)
ending physical inventory;
(v)
material unaccounted for;
(b)
a physical inventory listing, in the format set out in Annex V, showing all batches separately.
2. The reports and the listing referred to in paragraph 1 shall be transmitted as soon as possible and at the latest within 30 days of the date on which a physical inventory was taken.
3. Unless otherwise specified in the particular safeguard provisions referred to in Article 8 for an installation, a physical inventory listing, based on an actual inventory taking of all nuclear materials present in the material balance area, shall be produced every calendar year. The period between two successive physical inventory takings shall not exceed 14 months.
Special reports
Operators shall transmit to the Commission a special report whenever any of the circumstances referred to in Article 17 or 25 arise.
The special reports, and further details or explanations requested in connection with those reports, shall be provided to the Commission without delay. If further technical investigations are required, those special reports shall contain the information available on the date of reporting and be completed as soon as possible with the outcome of those investigations.
Unusual occurrences
A special report shall be provided, as required in Article 16, in the following cases:
(a)
if, as a result of any unusual incident or circumstances, it is considered that there has been or might be an increase or a loss of nuclear material, including during transfer to or from the installation; in such case, the special report shall include a description of the incident or circumstances, the weights of uranium, thorium and plutonium, in accordance with the categories listed in Article 21(2), point (b), the weight of the fissile isotopes in the case of enriched uranium, as well as a description of how the weights were established, and any further actions taken, including to avoid recurrence of a loss;
(b)
if the containment has unexpectedly changed, to a point where an unauthorised removal of nuclear material has become possible; in such case, the special report shall include a description of the incident or circumstances, and it may also include a description of any actions taken to reduce the risk of unauthorised removal and to avoid recurrence.
The operators concerned shall provide those special reports as soon as they have become aware of any such increase or loss or of any such sudden unexpected change, or of anything which leads them to consider that there has been such an occurrence. The causes for such unusual occurrences shall also be stated as soon as they are known.
For each installation, further details on the information to be provided may be specified in the particular safeguard provisions referred to in Article 8.
Reporting of nuclear transformations
In respect of reactors, calculated data on nuclear transformations shall be reported in the inventory change report at the latest when irradiated fuel is transferred from the reactor material balance area. In addition, other procedures for recording and reporting nuclear transformations may be specified in the particular safeguard provisions referred to in Article 8.
Particular safeguard obligations
1. Nuclear materials subject to particular safeguard obligations entered into by the Community in an agreement concluded with a third country or an international organisation shall be identified with the appropriate obligation code, as communicated by the Commission, in the following notifications and records:
(a)
initial book inventory provided for in Article 13;
(b)
inventory change reports, including ending book inventories, provided for in Article 14;
(c)
material balance reports and physical inventory listings provided for in Article 15;
(d)
intended exports and imports provided for in Articles 23 and 24;
(e)
accounting records provided for in Article 11, first paragraph, points (a) and (c).
Unless specifically prohibited in any of those agreements with a third country or an international organisation, the identification of nuclear materials referred to in the first subparagraph shall not preclude the physical mixing of nuclear materials.
2. Where applicable, the attribution of obligation codes in the records provided for in Article 11 and in the reports provided for in Articles 14 and 15 shall comply with the proportionality principle.
3. Paragraph 1 shall not apply to any agreement concluded by the Community and the Member States with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Pool accounting and obligation exchanges
1. The use, scope, reporting and modalities of pool accounting require prior authorisation by the Commission, which may be granted on a case-by-case basis if such use is justified in view of the type and activities of the installation and in accordance with criteria described in the recommendation referred to in Article 42. The modalities of pool accounting shall not prejudice the fulfilment of the commitments of the Community, such as respect for the equivalence principle and the proportionality principle.
A reasoned and motivated request for authorising the use of pool accounting shall be submitted in writing to the Commission, with a proposal of pool accounting modalities.
2. The pool code, as communicated by the Commission, shall be used to identify all nuclear materials in the accountancy pool in the reports provided for in Articles 14 and 15. The total amounts of nuclear materials assigned to the pool shall be known at all times for each obligation code and shall be provided to the Commission each month in the form of an electronic pool report.
3. The authorisation referred to in paragraph 1 may be withdrawn if the provisions of this Regulation or the conditions specified in the authorisation are no longer met.
4. Particular safeguard obligations as referred to in Article 19 may be exchanged between two quantities of nuclear materials, subject to equivalence criteria applicable to the relevant NCA and to specific conditions communicated to the operator within an agreed timeframe after the request and all relevant information is received.
A reasoned and motivated request for an exchange of obligations shall be submitted electronically to the Commission using the form set out in Annex XVI. The operator concerned shall be informed within an agreed timeframe whether the conditions for the exchange of obligations are met.
Weight units and categories of nuclear materials
1. In any notification referred to in this Regulation, quantities of materials covered by the Regulation shall be expressed in grams.
The corresponding material accounting records shall be kept in grams or in smaller units. They shall be kept in such a manner as to render them trustworthy and, in particular, to comply with current practices in the Member States.
In the notifications, quantities may be rounded down when the first decimal is 0 to 4 and rounded up when the first decimal is 5 to 9.
2. Unless otherwise provided for in the particular safeguard provisions referred to in Article 8, any notification referred to in this Regulation shall include the following:
(a)
the total weight of the elements uranium, thorium and plutonium, and also, for enriched uranium, the total weight of the fissile isotopes;
(b)
separate material balance reports as well as separate line entries in inventory change reports and in physical inventory listings for the following categories of nuclear material:
(i)
depleted uranium;
(ii)
natural uranium;
(iii)
uranium enriched to less than 20 %;
(iv)
uranium enriched to 20 % and above;
(v)
plutonium;
(vi)
thorium.
Derogations
1. An operator may be derogated from the rules governing the frequency of the inventory change reports provided for in Article 14, in order to take account of any particular circumstances in which safeguarded materials are used or produced.
A request for such derogation shall be submitted electronically to the Commission by the operator concerned using the format set out in Annex IX.
Such derogation may only apply to a whole material balance area in which nuclear material is not processed or stored together with nuclear material for which no derogation is granted.
2. A derogation may apply to a material balance area holding:
(a)
quantities of nuclear material commensurate with those specified in Annex I-N, which are kept in the same state for long periods;
(b)
depleted uranium, natural uranium or thorium which is used exclusively in non-nuclear activities;
(c)
special fissile materials when used in gram quantities or less as sensing components in instruments;
(d)
plutonium with an isotopic concentration of plutonium-238 exceeding 80 %.
3. The operator and the Member State concerned shall be informed whether the conditions for derogation set out in paragraphs 1 and 2 are met. If those conditions are met, an annual inventory change report shall be transmitted electronically to the Commission by 31 January, using the format set out in Annex III. That report shall describe the situation at 31 December of the previous calendar year. At the same time, a material balance report and a physical inventory listing showing all batches separately shall be transmitted electronically using the formats set out in Annexes IV and V.
4. In addition, in the case of an inventory change occurring during the year in a material balance area to which a derogation applies, the operator concerned shall transmit electronically an inventory change report to the Commission as soon as possible and, at the latest, within 15 days of the end of the month in which the inventory change occurred, using the format set out in Annex III.
5. If the conditions for derogation set out in paragraphs 1 and 2 are no longer met, and after verification with the operator concerned, the operator concerned and the relevant Member State shall be informed that the derogation no longer applies.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
