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OCR for page 160
Problems of Preventing Acts of Nuclear
and Radiological Terrorism
Vladimir M. Kutsenko *
Department of Protection of Information, Nuclear Materials, and Facilities
Ministry of Atomic Energy
A.P. Morozov
Interagency Group on Combating Nuclear Terrorism and
the Illegal Trade in Nuclear Materials and Radioactive Substances
The concept of the national security of the Russian Federation includes the
possibility that a threat such as terrorism may occur in practically any sphere of
activity in the country. The threat of nuclear or radiological terrorism is therefore
viewed as part of the overall problem of ensuring national security.
The Federal Anti-terrorism Commission has been established under the fed-
eral law on combating terrorism. As part of this commission and under the aus-
pices of the Russian Ministry of Atomic Energy (Minatom), a working group has
been created to address issues of countering nuclear terrorism and the illegal
trade in nuclear materials and radioactive substances. In conjunction with the
State Commission on Nuclear Weapons at the federal and regional levels, this
commission coordinates the activities of executive branch agencies of the federal
government and of Russian Federation subjects involved in preventing and sup-
pressing nuclear terrorism and eliminating (localizing) its effects. A federal sys-
tem for reacting to terrorist incidents has also been instituted.
Minatom has itself carried out significant work aimed at preventing nuclear and
radiological terrorism at industrial facilities. Such efforts include the following:
.
Step-by-step upgrades to bring the system for physical protection of fa-
cilities up to the necessary standard;
.
Improvement of the state system of control and accountability for nuclear
and radioactive materials; and
· Coordination of the efforts of federal executive branch agencies aimed at
preventing and suppressing possible acts of nuclear terrorism.
* Translated from the Russian by Kelly Robbins.
160
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NUCLEAR TERRORISM
161
These efforts and other measures are essential, but the current world situation
shows that they may not be sufficient. The potential for the occurrence of nuclear
and radiological terrorism, one of the most dangerous varieties of high-tech terror-
ism, is ever intensifying, taking on an international, global character. Current re-
views, publications, and expert assessments indicate that the problem of nuclear
and radiological terrorism could become a reality at any moment. Understanding
this threat and its consequences with a sufficient sense of responsibility requires
that all possible aspects of this phenomenon be considered in detail.
Of the greatest concern is the possibility of terrorism involving nuclear weap-
ons, which could take on an international character. Such terrorism could in-
volve illegally obtained nuclear weapons or nuclear materials used in making
such weapons. Terrorists might also use "dirty methods," that is, highly radioac-
tive materials detonated using ordinary explosive substances. Problems connect-
ed with fighting this sort of terrorism must be resolved by maximally coordinat-
ed efforts aimed at creating an appropriate system of measures in Russia, the
United States, and other states possessing nuclear technologies. It should also be
noted that this type of terrorism as a phenomenon of modern life appeared rela-
tively recently and is a rather broad, complex, and multifaceted concept.
The reliable physical protection of nuclear materials undoubtedly plays an
exceptionally important role in the interests of preventing and suppressing possi-
ble acts of nuclear and radiological terrorism. In this connection, full support
should be given to the efforts of the Office of Physical Protection and Materials
Security of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Department of Safe-
guards to strengthen the regime for physical protection of nuclear materials
worldwide.
However, it is obvious that the problem of combating instances of nuclear
and radiological terrorism cannot be resolved solely with measures of physical
protection. The current situation creates a need for developing bilateral and mul-
tilateral international relations to coordinate measures for preventing and sup-
pressing cases of nuclear and radiological terrorism.
These recommendations represent a systematic synthesis of the results of
research on the problem carried out by scientists from the Federal Nuclear Cen-
ters (the All-Russia Research Institute of Experimental Physics and the Institute
of Technical Physics) and the Institute of Physics and Power Engineering. They
are aimed at developing a program for creating an international system to counter
and react to cases of nuclear and radiological terrorism. In this regard, the main
difficulty in resolving the problem lies in the creation of national systems.
Given all that has been stated above, we believe that it is essential to submit
for discussion by this esteemed gathering a number of recommendations and sug-
gestions aimed at the coordination of efforts to resolve this multifaceted problem.
1. The joint development of a dictionary of terminology on nuclear and
radiological terrorism. This particularly concerns the conceptual definitions of
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162
HIGH-IMPACT TERRORISM
nuclear and radiological terrorism. In the end, a clear conceptual characterization
of this type of terrorism as a sociolegal phenomenon must serve as the basis for
the definition of the issues as well as the legal, organizational, and resource-
related aspects of the fight against terrorism.
2. The joint development of a list of threats and a basic model of the terror-
ist in the interests of forming a conceptual framework for the organization of
countermeasures. It is proposed that the threats must include a list of goals and
motives of cases of terrorism, while the model of a terrorist would include a list
of features that would allow him to be classified as nuclear or radiological in
orientation.
3. The creation by common efforts of a modelfor national systems for coun-
tering nuclear and radiological terrorism. Its open component would undoubt-
edly involve interaction and coordination of efforts.
National systems for reacting to threats of terrorism should be created as a
unified informational and logical whole along with the system for combating the
illegal trade in nuclear materials and radioactive substances. The concept of the
national system for combating nuclear and radiological terrorism should include
coordinated actions by federal executive branch agencies with functional respon-
sibilities involving the prevention of acts of nuclear terrorism and the detection
of and reaction to the illegal trade in nuclear materials and radioactive substanc-
es. The system should have a central competent organ to make decisions on
assessing the level of the possible threat and to take preventive measures. This
will facilitate further coordination of the work of these systems at the interna-
tional level. At the first stage, this task is particularly urgent for states possessing
nuclear weapons technologies.
4. Coordination of efforts by the international community. The international
community must coordinate its activities in the fight against the illegal trade in
nuclear materials and radioactive substances, since this trade carries with it the
danger of nuclear or radiological terrorism.
This task is very complex. In the matter of preventing nuclear smuggling,
the current actions of the Office of Physical Protection and Materials Security of
the IAEA Department of Safeguards headed by Mrs. A. Nilsson are absolutely
insufficient, as are the actions being taken by the international technical working
group (ITWG) established at the initiative of the United States and the countries
of the European Community. Furthermore, Mrs. Nilsson has frequently men-
tioned the need for closer coordination of this work.
In particular, Mrs. Nilsson has noted that expanded cooperation between the
IAEA and the ITWG has been proposed. Such cooperation could include the
establishment of an IAEA database on the illegal trade in nuclear materials and
radioactive substances, an analysis of unknown materials that might be produced
both in IAEA labs and in the labs of ITWG member states, assistance in identify-
ing nuclear materials and radioactive substances, coordination of efforts to sup-
press the illegal trade in nuclear materials and radioactive substances, and broad
OCR for page 163
NUCLEAR TERRORISM
163
efforts to inform IAEA member states about the results of ITWG activities.
IAEA also counts on making use of the services of experts participating in the
ITWG. In the opinion of IAEA, cooperation in these areas could be particularly
important and worthy of support.
When the need for more coordinated interactions on these issues by national
intelligence services and customs agencies is added to the above, it appears that overall
coordination of these efforts can hardly be accomplished by IAEA staff alone.
Minatom is working to develop the conceptual model and the basic systems
technology foundations for improving the State System for Preventing and Sup-
pressing Illegal Trade in Nuclear Materials and Radioactive Substances. Work is
under way to ensure the informational and logical unity of the data structures
compiled and used in addressing matters of physical protection, accountability,
and control of nuclear materials and in countering nuclear terrorism. In the course
of these efforts, basic areas of activity and issues of cooperation among federal
executive branch agencies are being defined.
The main goal of improving the State System lies in ensuring comprehen-
sive control over the movement of nuclear materials and radioactive substances,
the transport of spent nuclear materials and radioactive substances to temporary
storage facilities, and the provision of temporary storage pending decisions on
permanent disposition or recycling. To address this need, a unified information
center that will be part of the State System is being created under the auspices of
Minatom. Existing technologies and communications will be used to the maxi-
mum extent for cooperation with federal executive organs.
It should be noted that the illegal trade in nuclear materials and radioactive
substances represents a serious threat to the international community. It must be
combated jointly, using all cost-effective methods and means.
5. The formation of an international database on the given problem (un-
questionably, on a voluntary basis). The international exchange of information
among the appropriate national agencies regarding questions of the nonprolifera-
tion of nuclear weapons and the countering of the illegal trade in nuclear materi-
als and radioactive substances can be conducted on the basis of bilateral and
multilateral agreements. In the early stages, it would seem useful to establish
cooperation among states possessing nuclear weapons.
It is important to determine the scope of this database, which presupposes
the integration of existing information systems of national law enforcement agen-
cies, competent agencies in the area of atomic energy utilization, and power
agencies that collect information regarding the struggle against nuclear terrorism
and the illegal trade in nuclear materials and radioactive substances. This inte-
gration should be defined along the following lines:
· Modernization of the database on the illegal trade in nuclear materials
and radioactive substances according to an agreed-upon scale of gradations of
such cases;
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HIGH-IMPACT TERRORISM
· Creation of a database on international criminal organizations oriented
toward nuclear and radiological terrorism;
· Creation of a warning system regarding preparations for or attempts to
carry out acts of nuclear terrorism; and
· Establishment of communications networks including the appropriate
contact persons.
6. National legislation in the area of preventing and suppressing acts of
nuclear terrorism. Such needs to be developed and improved. At the first stage,
it would seem useful to develop international legal norms in this area. Voluntary
agreement of states to include these norms in the appropriate legislation would
facilitate the gradual formation of a legal basis for the international community
in the fight against this threat.
7. Providing law enforcement agencies with the necessary technology. It is
important to add impetus to efforts to resolve the problem of providing law
enforcement agencies (customs, border guards, internal affairs agencies, et cet-
era) with the technology they need to detect nuclear materials and radioactive
substances. This is an important problem to resolve mainly in the states possess-
ing nuclear technologies. Minatom is prepared to supply mass-produced instru-
ments and radiation control systems.
8. Ensuring information security. This problem cannot be ignored. Specifi-
cally, publications on technologies for manufacturing explosive-action nuclear
devices and information on locations where weapons and nuclear materials are
stored can serve as a stimulus for the threat of nuclear terrorism.
A reduction of the threat of terrorism and the illegal trade in nuclear materi-
als and radioactive substances can be achieved only as a result of a comprehen-
sive set of political, organizational, and technical measures. At the first stage,
these measures would include the following:
· Preparatory work aimed at completing the Convention on the Suppres-
sion of Nuclear Terrorism (a draft has been submitted to the United Nations by
the Russian Federation); and
· Improvement of coordinating measures under UN auspices to combat the
illegal trade in nuclear materials and radioactive substances.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
radioactive substances