Structuring Objectives for Evaluating Possible Nuclear Material Control and Accounting Regulations

The development of a function for examining the effects of nuclear regulations on the operators of nuclear facilities is described. Specifically, an objective function is developed for evaluating material control and accounting regulations. The first step was to identify and articulate possible impacts on such operators. From these, an objectives hierarchy was structured by considering potentially missing impacts, redundancies, and cause-effect relationships; Then measures to indicate the degree to which those objectives might be affected were specified. Finally, a utility function representing an operator's viewpoint was assessed over the various measures. The impacts of concern include economic and noneconomic effects on the management of a nuclear facility, as well as effects directly on the employees.