Disarmament Diplomacy
Issue No. 23, February 1998
DOE Press Releases:
Nuclear Materials Controls; Security of US Nuclear Facilities
US-Russia Nuclear Materials Controls
'United States and Russia complete nuclear material control
systems at four sites; Department of Energy Participates in
Commissioning Ceremonies in Moscow,' DOE Press Release R-98-020, 25
February, 1998
Full text
"The United States and the Russian Federation today announced
the completion of upgrades at four Russian facilities that will
help to secure and control nuclear materials, reducing the
worldwide risk of nuclear proliferation. Representatives of the two
governments are holding commissioning ceremonies for the new
security systems this week at each of the facilities.
Nuclear material control and accounting upgrades have been
installed at the Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Physics,
the Joint Institute of Nuclear Research, the Karpov Institute of
Physical Chemistry, and the Research and Development Institute of
Power Engineering. The sites are the latest facilities to complete
the installation of nuclear materials protection, control and
accounting upgrades under the US Department of Energy's cooperative
efforts with Russia, the Newly Independent States and the Baltics.
Rose Gottemoeller, Director of Nonproliferation and National
Security, is representing the department at commissioning
ceremonies near Moscow this week.
'Our joint efforts to institute site-wide material protection,
control, and accounting upgrades continue to reduce the nuclear
danger worldwide,' said Secretary of Energy Federico Peña.
'These upgrades significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized use,
theft, or diversion of weapons-usable nuclear materials.'
The Department of Energy and the Russian government have been
cooperating since 1994 to improve the security of weapons-usable
material at locations throughout Russia under the Material
Protection, Control, and Accounting (MPC&A) program. Originally
part of the Department of Defense's Cooperative Threat Reduction
('Nunn-Lugar') program, the initiative was assumed by the Energy
Department in 1995. The design and installation of MPC&A
upgrades are carried out by technical experts from the department's
national laboratories working directly with their counterparts in
Russia, the other Newly Independent States, and the Baltics.
Since 1994, MPC&A has improved the security of tens of tons
of weapons-usable nuclear material throughout Russia, Kazakhstan,
Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, Uzbekistan, and Georgia by
improving physical protection and material accounting systems.
These protections include radiation portal monitors, tags and
seals, barcoding materials, access control devices, and inventory
control software for material accounting systems. The MPC&A
initiative also offers training in the use of these systems to the
facilities' staffs.
Site-wide MPC&A upgrades were completed at three additional
sites in Russia in December 1997, and commissioning ceremonies for
these sites are also planned in early 1998. To date, site-wide
MPC&A upgrades have been completed at 17 sites throughout the
former Soviet Union. By December 2002, more than 50 locations are
scheduled to receive nuclear material security and accounting
upgrades, protecting hundreds of additional tons of weapons-usable
material from theft or diversion.
More information on MPC&A initiatives are available on the
World Wide Web at:http://www.dp.doe.gov/nn/mpca/index.html"
Security of US Nuclear Facilities
'Secretary Peña Strengthens DOE Intelligence Programs;
Establishes New Offices of Counterintelligence and Intelligence,'
Department of Energy Press Release R-98-014, 10 February
1998
Full text
"Energy Secretary Federico Peña today announced the
reorganization of intelligence programs at the Department of Energy
to improve counterintelligence capabilities and enable better
coordination with national law enforcement agencies. The
reorganization, which will be implemented over the next four
months, creates two new offices, an Office of Counterintelligence
and an Office of Intelligence. Both will report directly to the
Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Energy.
'The Cold War is over, but the need for national security
vigilance is as great as ever. With these reforms, I plan to
increase our coordination with the FBI and other law enforcement
agencies to enhance security and combat potential threats,'
Secretary Peña said.
The new Office of Counterintelligence will be responsible for
ensuring effective counterintelligence programs throughout the
Department of Energy complex, including at the department's
laboratories. The new office will be headed by Edward Curran,
currently a senior manager at the Federal Bureau of Investigation,
where he serves as a section chief in the National Security
Division. The appointment of Curran to this position will promote
closer links among FBI field offices and Energy Department
facilities across the country, as well as between the FBI and
Energy Department headquarters. The new Office of Intelligence will
be responsible for foreign intelligence analysis. Notra Trulock,
the current director of energy intelligence, will continue in that
capacity. Trulock is currently on an Intergovernmental Personnel
Act assignment from the Los Alamos National Laboratory. There will
be a competitive selection for a permanent director for the new
office. Both the foreign intelligence and counterintelligence
functions were previously under the umbrella of the Office of
Energy Intelligence within the Office of Nonproliferation and
National Security."
© 1998 The Acronym Institute.
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