A CTBT National Data Centre (NDC) is an organization with technical expertise in verification technologies working under the guidance of the National Authority. A National Data Centre is operated and maintained by a state that is a signatory to the CTBT. Its functions include sending data from the International Monitoring System (IMS) to the International Data Centre (IDC) or receiving data and products from the IDC. The CND is one of the fundamental pillars of the verification regime that belongs to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). Through the Verification Regime, it is possible to know if there was any type of nuclear test on our planet. The International Monitoring System (IMS) is the network of stations that constantly collect data to be sent to the International Data Centre (IDC) in Vienna, where the headquarters are located. The data collected is stored, processed and analyzed for submission to the National Data Centre (NDC), where it is stored and reviewed for any possible violations of the Treaty.

Chile's CND is located at the Queen's headquarters of the Nuclear Energy Commission (CCHEN) and was set up in Chile in 2002 where staff from the CTBT Organization, Vienna came to make the necessary arrangements to receive the information from the Chilean CTBT monitoring stations.

In 2015, the CND was updated. First, we started with the logistics of moving the equipment to Chile from boxes weighing more than 500 kilos, then came from the Organization of the CTBT, Vienna, the expert Alexander Poplavskiy who gave us manuals and explanation of the new data display programs available in the updated system.

Distribution of NDCs and IMS stations in Member States

Each Member State has a different structure of NDCs and International Monitoring System stations. Some countries host the CND in institutions other than the entities that manage the monitoring stations; in other countries they are managed by universities or other institutions related to some of the technologies of the IMS. In the case of our country, Chile, everything is concentrated in the Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission in charge of the National Data Center and Chilean CTBT monitoring stations. That is why when we refer to the NDC, we also consider the monitoring stations.

As the National Authority, CND-CCHEN is in charge of the operation and maintenance of the stations and the National Data Center. Part of our routine is to maintain the stations, doing everything possible to manage; technical areas, science, legal, acquisitions, financial, communications, etc. This involves; presenting monthly and annual reports, elaborating proposals, negotiating land, administering licenses and agreements between institutions, sending filters to certified laboratories, providing helium to Chilean stations that require it, sending packages, managing equipment internment, supplying necessary products for these stations, training, participating in international meetings, among other activities that make their operation possible.