R5.12/03 S - Metrological laboratory in Bochvar LOT 1 (ref AP 7.1.4.1-2)

In December 1994 the European Council and the European Parliament considered a proposal from the European Commission to strengthen the co-operation with the Russian Federation in the area of Nuclear Material Accountancy and Control (NMAC). The Commission Services after extensive contacts with Russian Authorities identified this as a priority area and established a comprehensive assistance programme.

One of the first TACIS projects to be programmed by the EC in this area was the project R5.02/96 (see contract 24943). The objectives of the project were to design, set up and assist in starting up the operation of three laboratories for:

1. Analysing samples of nuclear materials originating from Minatom for nuclear material accountancy purposes or originating from GAN for safeguards verification purposes (Analytical safeguards laboratory);
2. Analysing seized nuclear materials in order to reveal their origin (Laboratory for the identification of nuclear material of unknown origin).
3. Providing metrological support in the form of reference materials, consultancy and quality control (Nuclear metrological laboratory).

As part of the project, the Consultant had to identify the needs for instruments and other equipment for these laboratories and prepare the Technical Specifications for their procurement. The equipment was then procured by the EC under TACIS funding.

The project R5.02/96 was continued and extended by a follow-on project, R5.01/97B (see contract 30307). The objective of the follow-on project was to upgrade the laboratories installed under contract 24943 by providing additional modern measurement equipment and advanced training of personnel in key techniques for measuring nuclear materials. Additionally, for the nuclear forensic laboratory, it was intended to help the Beneficiary improve its nuclear materials database by the provision of new data.

The additional items of equipment identified by the Consultant of contract 30307 for the 3 laboratories were:

Lot 1: Elemental Analysers C S N O H: These instruments are for the precise and accurate determination of Carbon (C), Sulphur (S), Oxygen (O), Nitrogen (N) and Hydrogen (H) in uranium and/or plutonium oxide powders or pellets. Two different analysers were included in the scope of supply, one for C S determination and one for O N H determination. Both instruments were supplied complete with a fully equipped personal computer, printer, software for control of the instruments, reference materials, spare parts and maintenance and user manuals.

Lot 2: Basic Laboratory Equipment: The intended scope of supply comprised:

• 3 hand dispensers for manual pipetting of liquid solutions
• 1 rotary powder subsampling instrument, complete with spare parts, for subsampling uranium or plutonium compounds in powder form
• 2 analytical-grade water preparation systems, complete with spare parts, for preparation of laboratory water
• 1 digital micrometer with blade anvils, complete with calibration gauges, battery charger and spare parts, for precise and accurate measurements of uranium and/or plutonium pellets
• 1 digital micrometer with point anvils, complete with calibration gauges, battery charger and spare parts, for precise and accurate measurements of uranium and/or plutonium pellets
• 1 vibration dry-sieving instrument, complete with spare parts, for quantitative particle size analysis of dried powder samples of uranium and/or plutonium compounds in particle form
• 1 ultrasonic wet-sieving instrument, complete with spare parts, for wet sieving of particle batches in liquid solution
• 2 laboratory furnaces, complete with spare parts, for heating uranium and/or plutonium compounds
• 1 pycnometer, complete with printer port, printer, calibration samples and spare parts, for measurement of the density of uranium and/or plutonium powder or particle samples
• 1 surface area + pore size analyser, complete with printer port, printer, calibration samples and spare parts, for measurement of the surface area or pore size of uranium and/or plutonium powder or particle samples
• 1 grinding instrument, complete with spare parts, for grinding of raw particle batches
• 1 milling instrument, complete with spare parts, for fine milling and homogenisation of small particle batches
• 1 powder characteristic tester, complete with printer port, printer and spare parts, for obtaining flowability and floodability index values of uranium and/or plutonium powder samples
• All instruments were to be supplied with user and maintenance manuals.

The objective of the project was to supply all the equipment listed above. Contracting would be achieved through competitive tendering.

The first call for tender was launched on 1 July 2005. Only Lot 1 could be contracted following this first call as no compliant offers were received for Lot 2. The second call for tender for Lot 2 was launched on 16 March 2006, with the same scope of supply, but unfortunately there were no suitable offers. Lot 2 was therefore cancelled.

The contract for Lot 1 was signed 8 August 2006. The equipment was delivered on15 January 2008 and installation was completed on 14 February 2008. The equipment was tested and the Provisional Acceptance Certificate was issued on 17 October 2008. The one year warranty period passed without incident or claim.