Nukes on a BlogNukes on a BlogNukes on a Blog is a project of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, and follows nonproliferation issues in Congress and globally.
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More on McCain's speech
2008-06-04 22:39:00 In his speech about nuclear weapons issues delivered on May 27, 2008, Senator John McCain raised important issues for the next Administration. His remarks signaled a welcome shift from the Bush Administration's repudiation of important tools that can effectively reduce the dangers posed by nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons, tools which served us well during the Cold War and which remain important for the continued viability of the non-proliferation framework.Senator McCain's remarks signal a significant change from the Bush Administration in certain important areas, including a renewed commitment to pursuing further legally-binding and verifiable reductions in the number of U.S. and Russia nuclear weapons; opening a discussion on the ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT); strengthening efforts to secure vulnerable bomb-grade material; pursuing negotiations for a Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty (FMCT); and increasing funding for the International Atomic E... More About: Speech
Senator McCain?s Vision for a World of Fewer Nuclear Weapons
2008-05-28 23:13:00 In a speech at the University of Denver, presumptive Republican presidential nominee and Senator John McCain argued yesterday for a new legally binding and mutually verified arms reduction agreement with Russia:?While we have serious differences, with the end of the Cold War, Russia and theUnited States are no longer mortal enemies. As our two countries possessthe overwhelming majority of the world's nuclear weapons, we have a specialresponsibility to reduce their number. I believe we should reduce ournuclear forces to the lowest level we judge necessary, and we should be preparedto enter into a new arms control agreement with Russia reflecting the nuclearreductions I will seek. Further, we should be able to agree with Russia onbinding verification measures based on those currently in effect under the STARTAgreement, to enhance confidence and transparency. In close consultationwith our allies, I would also like to explore ways we and Russia can reduce ?and hopefully eliminate ? dep... More About: World , Nuclear , Weapons , Vision
A little more lost plutonium gets accounted for
2008-04-15 16:21:00 After the ?unacceptable mistake? of having unintentionally flown six-nuclear tipped weapons across the country, and the mix-up that resulted in nuclear missile fuses, rather than helicopter batteries, being sent to in Taiwan, bad news about nuclear weapon mistakes may come in threes: Most recently, a story from the Spanish newspaper El País (a summary of which appeared on the website http://www.typicallyspanish.com/) reported last week that Teresa Mendizábal, the Director of the Environment Department of the Energy, Environment, and Technology Research Centre, CIEMAT (part of the Ministry of Education), stated that 1,000 square meters of radioactively contaminated material, containing plutonium and americium, have been found near Palomares, Spain.The contaminated material has been discovered 42 years after the Palomares accident where four U.S. hydrogen bombs fell over the village of Palomares (in the Almeria region in Southeastern Spain) following a 1966 mid-air collision between a... More About: Lost
Doctors gather in global opposition to nuclear weapons
2008-03-10 14:36:00 This week in New Delhi, India about 400 doctors and 300 medical students from over fifty countries met to discuss and plan action responsive to their shared commitment to the abolition of nuclear weapons. The 18th World Congress of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) was inaugurated with a speech by the Vice President of India, Shri M. Hamid Ansari, who recalled India's tradition of advocacy for nuclear disarmament, including its role in proposing a nuclear test ban in 1954 and a non-proliferation treaty in 1965 (unfortunately, India would refuse to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty concluded three years later). The Vice President surfaced a three-point plan for Indian leadership on nuclear disarmament, calling for universal reaffirmation of the goal of the elimination of nuclear weapons, negotiation of a convention prohibiting the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons, and a Nuclear Weapons Convention that would ban production, stockpiling, or us... More About: Doctors , Global , Gather
Norway builds momentum for nuclear weapons abolition
2008-02-26 19:01:00 An historic two-day conference titled Achieving the Vision of a World Free of Nuclear Weapons : International Conference on Nuclear Disarmament convened today in Oslo, Norway focused on ?identifying strategies that promote sustainable solutions for disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.? The conference is hosted by the Norwegian Foreign Ministry in cooperation with the Nuclear Threat Initiative, the Hoover Institution and the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority. New papers on the prospects for and process toward nuclear disarmament by global thought leaders are available online. A broadcast email from the Nuclear Threat Initiative points out that:?The meeting builds on a recent Hoover/NTI conference ?Reykjavik Revisited: Steps Toward a World Free of Nuclear Weapons? and two articles ? ?A World Free of Nuclear Weapons? and ?Toward a Nuclear Free World? ? written by George Shultz, William Perry, Henry Kissinger and Sam Nunn that were published in The Wall Street Jou... More About: Momentum , Abolition
Ivanov on Globalizing Nuclear Arms Control Law
2008-02-11 15:57:00 David Rising of the Associated Press reports that Russia n First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said on February 10, 2008 that Russia and the United States should replace the bilateral arms control agreements of the Cold War and that the time has come"to open this framework for all leading states interested in cooperation in order to ensure overall security."Ivanov?s remarks align with recent British statements about the widening of the nuclear arms control process made by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Secretary of State for Defense Des Browne, and former Foreign Secretary Margaret Becket.Widening the process of negotiated and effectively verified reduction in nuclear weapons to additional states supports compliance with the shared Article VI obligation of all states parties to the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) to:?pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear ... More About: Arms , Control
The United Kingdom acts to globalize nuclear disarmament progress
2008-02-06 15:53:00 On February 5, 2008, the British Secretary of Defence Des Browne addressed the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva on ?Laying the Foundations for Multilateral Disarmament.? He made a bold statement of the United Kingdom ?s commitment to its nuclear disarmament obligations:?The UK has a vision of a world free of nuclear weapons and, in partnership with everyone who shares that ambition, we intend to make further progress towards this vision in the coming years.?Browne continues, emphasizing the need for progress nuclear disarmament to be verifiable, not only to the nuclear weapons ?haves,? but also to the non-nuclear weapons states:?Our chances of eliminating nuclear weapons will be enhanced immeasurably if the Non-Nuclear Weapon States can see forward planning, commitment and action toward multilateral nuclear disarmament by Nuclear Weapon States. Without this, we risk generating the perception that the Nuclear Weapon States are failing to fulfil their disarmament obligations and thi... More About: United Kingdom , Progress
If you want disarmament, globalize ACDA
2008-02-01 18:01:00 AFP reports that the new Australia n Foreign Minister is promising a more assertive role in support of nuclear disarmament. Foreign Minister Stephen Smith told a Tokyo news conference that:"The current Australian Government came to office with a new commitment to seekto be much more active... as a nation on nuclear non-proliferation anddisarmament matters." We welcome this important step forward. But as former Prime Minister John Howard?s August 2007 deal to sell uranium to India ? which has since been reversed by the new Australian Government ? makes clear, nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament are not always Australia?s top foreign policy priorities. This is easy to understand, of course, bilateral relationships always loom large in comparison to global imperatives in international politics.One way to strengthen efforts to promote nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament and to insulate them from political vaguaries may be to strengthen their institutional advocate. The Australi... More About: Disarmament
Colombia ratifies the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
2008-01-30 16:42:00 Earthtimes reports this morning that Colombia has ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). The Preparatory Commission for the Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) indicates Colombia?s date of ratification as January 29, 2008. Colombia?s ratification brings the total number of ratifications of the Treaty to 144 of 178 that have signed the CTBT.Following a number of ratifications by smaller states this year, Colombia?s action significantly advances the CTBT toward entry into force as Colombia is one of 44 ?Annex 2? states whose ratification is a prerequisite for entry into force.CTBTO Executive Secretary Tibor Tóth remarked that:?This is an extremely important event?Colombia's ratification creates a tippingpoint and brings the Treaty one step closer to taking effect. We welcomeColombia's move and expect other ratifications from Annex 2 countries to followsuit.?This bold action by Colombia demonstrates the capacity of all states to contribute to prudent, ...
Test ban advances toward universality
2008-01-29 01:00:00 Malaysia ratified the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) on January 17, 2008, bringing the total number of ratifications to 143. Ambassador Tibor Tóth, Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Organization (CTBTO) reacted, releasing a statement which read, in part:?This is very important internationally, but also regionally: Malaysia?sratification tips the balance in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) where 6 out of 10 countries now have ratified the Treaty.?The CTBTO points out that, among ASEAN states:?Cambodia, the Lao People?s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Philippines,Singapore and Vietnam have now ratified the CTBT, whereas Brunei Darussalam,Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand have yet to ratify it.? In other CTBT news, loyal readers will recall that on November 27, 2007, in a post on the occasion of the ratification of the CTBT by the Bahamas, we wrote ?Barbados , the eyes of the world are now upon you!? We are... More About: Malaysia , Trinidad and Tobago , Vance
Diverse Coalition Launches Campaign to Stop U.S. Nuclear Deal with India
2008-01-16 22:28:00 Twenty-three organizations yesterday launched a coalition to stop the Bush Administration?s proposed nuclear trade agreement with India . The proposed agreement would exempt that nuclear-armed nation from longstanding U.S. and international restrictions on states that do not meet global standards to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.The Campaign for Responsibility in Nuclear Trade believes the agreement would: dangerously weaken nonproliferation efforts and embolden countries like Iran and North Korea to pursue the development of nuclear weapons; further destabilize South Asia and Pakistan in particular; and violate or weaken international and U.S. laws, including the Hyde Act, which Congress passed in 2006 to provide a framework for the bilateral U.S.-Indian nuclear cooperation agreement.?When Congress takes a close look at the Bush Administration?s proposed agreement, it will find a dangerous, unprecedented deal,? said John Isaacs of the Council for a Livable World. ?The prop... More About: Deal , Stop
Another reason for a toast on Dec. 31
2007-12-26 06:48:00 Before leaving town last week, Congress passed a big appropriations bill which President Bush is expected to sign this week. The appropriations bill provides funding through Sept. 30, 2008. It contains much good news for nuclear arms control and nuclear non-proliferation, due in large part to Reps. Visclosky (D-IN) and Hobson (R-OH), as well as Sen. Dorgan (D-ND), who lead the Energy & Water Appropriations Subcommittees. The FY 2008 Omnibus Appropriations Bill made significant contributions to the goals of effective nuclear non-proliferation by increasing funding for almost all nuclear non-proliferation programs, while cutting funding for controversial programs that undermine and jeopardize those goals.Here are the best parts:-Funding for the Reliable Replacement Warhead (that proposes to design and develop a new type of nuclear weapon) was zeroed out ($0 for RRW!). -Funding for nuclear spent fuel reprocessing (which separates out weapons-usable material, or material that can ... More About: Reason , Toast
Pope Benedict XVI supports a world free of nuclear weapons
2007-12-11 18:21:00 The AP reports that Renato Cardinal Martino presented the Message of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI for the celebration of the World Day of Peace on January 1, 2008. On the topic of nuclear weapons, the Holy Father advises:?At a time when the process of nuclear non-proliferation is at a stand-still, I feel bound to entreat those in authority to resume with greater determination negotiations for a progressive and mutually agreed dismantling of existing nuclear weapons. In renewing this appeal, I know that I am echoing the desire of all those concerned for the future of humanity.?Click here to read the full message. More About: Nuclear , Free , Weapons
Remembering George Kuzmycz
2007-12-07 01:48:00 Nukes on a Blog remembers the contribution of the late George Kuzmycz to the prevention of the proliferation of nuclear weapons on the tenth anniversary of his untimely passing.During the last few years of his life, George led U.S. Department of Energy efforts to secure weapons usable nuclear materials in Ukraine from theft or diversion.George?s commitment to his native Ukraine and to nonproliferation are memorialized in the ongoing work of the George Kuzmycz Training Center for Physical Protection, Control and Accounting of Nuclear Material (English translation).George?s life reminds us that the dangers posed by nuclear weapons and nuclear proliferation result from human choices and that it is possible, as George did, for each of us to take on more than our share of responsibility for responding to these dangers. More About: Remembering , Erin
A General, a group of visionary students, the Quakers, and 30 national orga
2007-12-04 00:24:00 Lieutenant General Robert Gard (USA-ret.), Nukes on a Blog?s own Leonor Tomero, and the redoubtable researcher Achraf Farraj published an article in Friday?s Daily Californian encouraging University of California students and faculty to question the University?s involvement in the development of the so-called Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW):?The University of California manages Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a facility leading the development of the so-called Reliable Replacement Warhead, the first new hydrogen bomb designed by the United States in 20 years. Students and faculty at the University of California have a unique role to play in actively questioning this misguided U.S. nuclear weapons policy and UC?s involvement in its implementation.?The authors conclude that:?There are many problems facing the United States today, but the viability of its nuclear deterrent is not one of them. Building new nuclear weapons will not make us safer. It will do nothing to deter te... More About: Visionary , Quakers
It?s better in the Bahamas!
2007-11-27 21:07:00 Acting Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the Bahamas T. Brent Symonette made welcoming remarks yesterday to the openning session of a Workshop on Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) International Cooperation for States from the Caribbean Region hosted in Nassau where he announced that:?As you are aware The Bahamas , signed the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty on 4th February, 2005, and I trust that I will be able to deposit the Instrument of Ratification with the Secretary-General of the United Nations before the conclusion of this Work-shop.?Today the International Herald Tribune reports that Prime Minister Symonette has:?signed the instrument of ratification and sent it to United Nations headquarters, the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization said.?This action makes the Bahamas the 141st state to have ratified the CTBT, following the examples of the Dominican Republic in September (loyal rea... More About: Barbados
Thanks from Nukes on a Blog
2007-11-22 17:41:00 This Thanksgiving , the Nukes on a Blog team is grateful for important steps forward toward effective nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament over the last year, including ? but not limited to ? the following:Nonproliferation Progress in the Hard Cases· The efforts of the International Atomic Energy Agency to resolve ongoing concerns related to nuclear activities in Iran. Skilled diplomacy backed up by careful technical verification work is urgently necessary in response to this ongoing crisis.· The achievement of agreement with North Korea that allowed for the return of International Atomic Energy Inspectors and holds promise for the effectively verified termination of the DPRK's nuclear weapons program.New Momentum toward a World Free of Nuclear Weapons· The January Wall Street Journal op-ed by George Shultz, Henry Kissinger, William Perry, and Sam Nunn encouraging renewed commitment toward the vision of a world free of nuclear weapons. This clear statement... More About: United Kingdom , Norway , Susan Collins
Indian disarmament policy: don?t just do something, sit there!
2007-11-15 14:42:00 In anticipation of German Chancellor Angela Merkel ?s upcoming visit to New Delhi, the Hindustan Times reports that Indian Special Envoy and former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran was recently told by German officials:"We want India to contribute to strengthening international non proliferation system." The German Government reportedly expressed concern about the impact of the proposed U.S.-India nuclear deal on worldwide efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and has asked India to sign the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and support a Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty (FMCT).We predict this will not be the last expression of concern from a Nuclear Supplier Group government over the proposed deal and suggest that signing the CTBT and support of an FMCT are just the beginning of what the Government of India must do to demonstrate a credible commitment to nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament. More About: Germany , Policy , Disarmament
The U.S.-India nuclear deal keeps getting worse for everybody
2007-11-10 18:20:00 Last year, Congress passed the Hyde Act, changing thirty-year old U.S. non-proliferation law to make a special exception for India to receive sensitive nuclear technology and material from the United States even though India has repeatedly rejected meaningful nuclear non-proliferation commitments (such as signing the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, or ceasing the production of fissile material for weapons purposes in anticipation, as the five nuclear weapon states parties to the NPT have done). The Hyde Act substantially weakened U.S. non-proliferation law, undermined the NPT, and weakened the global norm against nuclear weapons proliferation.However, the Hyde Act at least ensured that certain minimal non-proliferation conditions, including providing in section 106 that nuclear trade with India must cease if India conducts a nuclear weapon test. India balked at this condition, making sure that it was not included in ... More About: Deal , Everybody
A tough week for GNEP
2007-11-03 06:36:00 The National Academy of Sciences released a report this week that dealt a significant blow to the Department of Energy?s current plant for GNEP which Ivan Oelrich of the Federation of American Scientists blogged about here. In addition, 48 national and local organizations and experts sent a letter this week to Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Pete Domenici (R-NM), who lead the Energy & Water Appropriations Subcommittee, urging them to eliminate funding for the program. The letter stated that:The DOE?s plan ?undermines U.S. nonproliferation policy, would cost taxpayers $100 billion or more, and, as many in the nuclear industry point out, does not solve the nuclear waste problem."The letter also noted that:?Although DOE is promoting GNEP internationally on nonproliferation grounds as a way to slow the spread of technologies used to produce fissile material for nuclear weapons, the program has had the opposite effect. Since GNEP?s inception, eight countries have notified the Intern... More About: Week , Tough
Can universities respond to nuclear dangers?
2007-10-29 18:48:00 eGov monitor posts a letter from David Willets, the United Kingdom?s Conservative Shadow Univers ities Secretary, to John Denham who sits on Prime Minister Gordon Brown?s Cabinet as Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities, and Skills concerned about Iranian students studying proliferation-sensitive subjects at British universities. A particularly important observation emerges from among Mr. Denham?s several specific concerns:?We have a clear obligation to ensure that our own universities, even inadvertently, do not contribute to nuclear proliferation.?This obligation is particularly relevant as humanity faces an imminent future that George P. Schultz, William J. Perry, Henry A. Kissinger, and Sam Nunn have called:?a new nuclear era that will be more precarious, psychologically disorienting, and economically even more costly than was Cold War deterrence.?These notable authors gathered last week at Stanford University to further explore these new dangers and possible solutions ... More About: Nuclear
Step away from the plutonium
2007-10-25 18:07:00 Los Alamos Reporter staff report that Chairman A.J. Eggenberger of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board sent an October 23, 2007 letter to the Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, observing:"The National Nuclear Security Administration?s (NNSA) current plan for sustained manufacturing of plutonium pits, essential to national security, relies on continued operation of the 55-year-old Chemistry and Metallurgy Research (CMR) facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board believes that continued operation of the CMR facility in its current condition poses significant risks to workers and the public.?The letter goes on to observe ?serious vulnerabilities? at the CMR including ?the lack of robust building confinement to prevent a release of radioactivity during an accident? and ?the identification of a seismic fault under two wings and the susceptibility of all the wings to structural collapse due to ground motion ... More About: Step
Scotland the Brave! (and someday nuclear weapon free?)
2007-10-22 20:43:00 Thanks to Martin Butcher for surfacing that BBC News reports that Scotland ?s First Minister Alex Salmond has ?written representatives of 189 countries signed up to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)?asking them to back his bid for Scotland to have observer status at future treaty talks.? In the letter, Salmond requests support for Scotland to have observer status in future NPT Review Conference talks and articulates his government?s opposition to the planned replacement of the British Trident subamarine-launched ballistic missile capability:"The majority of Scottish people and their elected representatives oppose these deployments."Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon explains:?It is not about trying to make common cause with any particular country?Given that Trident is based in Scotland, I think it is right that we make sure all of these countries know Scotland's view.?Deputy First Minister Sturgeon hosted a conference today titled A National Conversation: Scotland's Fut... More About: Free , Weapon , Some
Okay, who is NOT building a new nuclear weapon?
2007-10-18 21:01:00 Russian President Vladimir Putin answered questions today from the Kremlin for over three hours in a live television, radio and internet broadcast of ?The Hot Line with the President of Russia.?AFP reports that:?Putin told servicemen at the Plesetsk nuclear missile base that Russia would build another nuclear submarine next year and was also planning a "completely new" atomic weapon, about which he did not elaborate.?Additionally, the AP reports that President Putin said:"Our plans are not simply considerable, but huge. At the same time they are absolutely realistic?I have no doubts that we will accomplish them."Putin?s remarks come on the heels of his discussions with Iran ian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran in the first visit of a Russian leader to Iran since the 1940s, and of the Russian test launch of a Topol intercontinental ballistic missile.In the context of previous Russian tit-for-tat behavior, such as withdrawal from START II immediately following the effective date o... More About: Building , Nuclear , Russia
Additional delay on the US-India nuclear deal
2007-10-15 23:20:00 Amid encouragement from former Florida Governor Jeb Bush praising the US-India nuclear deal, and also from International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei stating that India should be part of the ?nuclear renaissance? and that a nuclear deal would remove restrictions imposed on India by the Nuclear Suppliers Group, reports suggest that Prime Minister Singh was expected to call President Bush to announce that India would not press for the US-India deal, at least for now. In so doing, the Singh government seems to be shelving the nuclear deal, at least temporarily, to avoid the withdrawal of the UPA-Communists from the coalition government and early elections. While India might still go forward eventually with negotiations at the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the International Atomic Energy Agency, it appears that, barring a break-through with the UPA-Communist parties, it looks as though the deal may be on hold in India. More About: Deal
Opposition to Nuclear Terrorism
2007-10-10 22:50:00 United Kingdom Member of Parliament from Woodspring and Tory Shadow Secretary of State for Defence Dr. Liam Fox addressed the threat of nuclear terrorism yesterday in a speech at Kings College, London. He makes important points about the dangers of nuclear weapons and materials and echoes Professor Graham Allison?s ?three no?s: no loose nukes, no new nascent nukes, and no new nuclear states.?However, his silence is disappointing on the topic of British leadership in the nuclear disarmament process, particularly including specific steps suggested by outgoing UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Margaret Beckett in a speech at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace International Nonproliferation Conference in June.Also of interest, Dr. Fox addresses the bargain of the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) directly:?The time is surely coming for us to revisit the NPT, especially article IV. Unless the international community devel... More About: Terrorism , Position
Non-Aligned Movement opposes new nuclear weapons, including RRW
2007-10-02 17:54:00 Speaking on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) at last month?s conference on facilitating the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in Vienna, Malaysia n Ambassador Arshad M. Hussain made clear that the NAM views new nuclear weapons, particularly including the so-called ?Reliable Replacement Warhead? (RRW) as inconsistent with significant commitments undertaken by the U.S. Government under the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).?In this regard, NAM wishes to emphasize that the development of new types of nuclear weapons is contrary to the guarantee given by the five nuclear weapon States at the time of the conclusion of the CTBT, namely, that the Treaty would prevent the improvement of existing nuclear weapons and the development of new types of nuclear weapons. Pending the entry into force of the Treaty, we call upon States to refrain from any actions contrary to its objectives and purpose. In this context, NAM is seriously ... More About: Pose , Nuclear Weapon
Measuring progress on securing nuclear weapon-usable material
2007-09-26 21:10:00 In his op-ed Thwarting Terrorists: More to Be Done appearing today?s Washington Post, Dr. Matthew Bunn, Senior Research Associate in the Project on Managing the Atom at Harvard University's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and also Member of the Board of Advisors of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, announces the publication of his annual report Securing the Bomb 2007.He notes in the op-ed that:-?While this is a global threat, Russia, Pakistan and research reactors usingfuel made from highly enriched uranium pose the most urgent dangers of nucleartheft.?-?Roughly 140 research reactors fueled by highly enriched uranium exist in dozens of countries -- some of them on university campuses -- and many have only modest security measures in place.?-While ?U.S.-funded security upgrades have been completed for more than half of the Russian buildings with potential bomb material and more than half of Russia's warhead sites?there is still a dangerous gap b... More About: Nuclear , Progress , Material , Weapon , Materia
One step forward, two steps back
2007-09-21 21:46:00 Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman announced this week at the International Atomic Energy Agency that the United States would declare another 9 metric tons of plutonium as excess material, ?enough to make over 1,000 nuclear weapons.? The material from dismantled nuclear weapons will be removed over ?the coming decades? and will be used to make mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel at the controversial MOX facility in Savannah River, South Carolina.These 9 MT will be added to the 45 MT tons of plutonium that the United States has declared excess material (34 MT of which is already slated for fuel fabrication at the Savannah River Site [SRS]).While this announcement is a useful step in further reducing the amount of excess plutonium and furthering the objectives of Article VI of the NPT, Secretary Bodman in the same breath touted the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) which has been one of the Bush Administration?s top energy and foreign policy priorities. The GNEP program would resume commerci... More About: Back , Step , Forward , Steps , Step Forward
Norwegian Leadership toward a Nuclear Weapon Free World
More articles from this author:2007-09-19 02:30:00 "Nuclear proliferation is not yesterday's news," Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre told an audience organized by the Norwegian Red Cross, "it's a burning question for both today and the future,? Aftenpoften reported today.The Foreign Minister?s remarks celebrated the 10th anniversary of the 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer or Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction, also known as the Ottawa Treaty. Recalling complex and stalled efforts to regulate landmines, Foreign Minister Støre observed that:?The Ottawa process turned these dynamics upside down. Instead of a ?race to the bottom,? the participants found themselves in a process where they were constantly being challenged by civil society actors ? not on the streets, but in conference halls, at roundtables, in the day-to-day negotiations.?The Foreign Minister discussed landmines, small arms, and cluster munitions, but expanded significantly on the potential to brin... More About: World , Free , Leadership 1, 2 |
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