Effective use of inspection samples as intercomparison samples for the quality control in accountancy analysis

Okazaki, Hiro ; Sumi, Mika; Kayano, Masashi ; Matsuyama, Kazutomi; Suzuki, Toru ; Kuhn, E.*

For the effective and efficient implementation of international Safeguards, it is essential that the Operator's measurement system is maintained at a level of high quality and improved, as necessary. Besides the internal quality control, it is important to have elements of Quality Assurance (QA) in place, such as external intercomparison. However, there were no intercomparison programs with Plutonium samples available in Japan because of very few users and difficulties in the shipment of such samples from foreign laboratories. To cope with these difficult situations, intercomparison by using actual safeguards samples containing Plutonium and Uranium was started. Inspection samples are selected and prepared for shipment to the Safeguards laboratories together with other samples. Safeguards laboratories receive and analyze them as inspection samples as well as intercomparison without additional cost for analysis operation or sample transportation. The practicality and effective use of this DA intercomparison, which is operated since more than 20 years, will be explained.