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Disarmament Diplomacy
Issue No. 43, January - February 2000
Study on Russian Nuclear Materials Safety and Security
"Managing the Global Nuclear Materials Threat", report by the
Center for Strategic and International Studies, released January
27, 2000.
Press Release
"Managing Loose Nukes: CSIS Report", CSIS Press Release,
February 2, 2000.
"Unsecured nuclear weapons and leftover nuclear material from
arms dismantled after the Cold War continue to pose the most
devastating international security threat, according to a new CSIS
report.
The report recommends that the United States appoint a
senior-level official to coordinate the effort to corral loose
nukes. It also calls for US leadership and international
cooperation to buy more excess weapons material and convert it to
peaceful nuclear-power uses. The report states that the likelihood
of a single nuclear weapon being used to destroy a major city has
increased. Theft of just a few kilograms of plutonium or highly
enriched uranium (HEU), the primary component of nuclear weapons,
could give a rogue state or terrorist group nuclear capability.
… The CSIS panel calls for:
- The United States, with an international consortium of nuclear
countries if possible, to buy an additional 50 tons of Russian HEU
at a cost of $1 billion and make the existing US-Russian HEU
agreement a higher priority;
- Consolidating Russian nuclear materials in fewer sites to
increase security, lower costs;
- Developing an international management standard for nuclear
materials transparency;
- Russia to work with Western governments and business to
accelerate the process of commercialising excess nuclear
infrastructure;
- Europe and Asia to increase their contributions to enhancing
nuclear security;
- The United States to renew its commitment to nuclear power as a
way to meet future energy needs while protecting the
environment;
- Increasing funding for nuclear research and development and
nuclear engineering education… ."
Source: A summary of this report is available on the Acronym Institute's
website at http://www.acronym.org.uk/usrussia.htm. The full report
can be found on the CSIS website at http://www.csis.org
© 2000 The Acronym Institute.
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