Cristina Hansell,
James Martin Center for Non-proliferation Studies,
Monterey Institute of International Studies
Concerns about nuclear terrorism have risen substantially over the past five years. However, while world leaders have consistently mentioned these concerns both at home and in international fora, there appears to be no common understanding of “nuclear terrorism”—the term is applied to threats ranging from sabotage of a nuclear facility that may or may not result in a release of radiation, to use of a radiological dispersal device, to use of a true nuclear device (producing explosive energy through nuclear fission reactions). This paper begins with a brief overview of U.S. and Russian statements related to the threat of nuclear terrorism, in order to show that the understanding of this threat diverges. It then focuses on expert assessments of the possibility of non-state actors constructing a nuclear device. Finally, it turns to current actions that address this latter threat, and what remains to be done today, as well as the possible changes in this threat in future years.
Official U.S. statements tend to refer to “Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) terrorism,” without clearly breaking down the risks of each type of threat. As far as nuclear terrorism is concerned, official statements mainly focus on the threat of terrorist use of a radiological dispersal device or of an improvised nuclear device,190 with the former seen as more likely. Sabotage of nuclear facilities is mentioned less often. The unclassified version of the most recent U.S. National Intelligence Estimate (July 2007) indicates that al-Qa’ida will remain the most serious threat to the United States and that the group will continue attempts to acquire and deploy unconventional weapons: “We assess that al-Qa’ida will continue to try to acquire and employ chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear material in attacks and would not hesitate to use them if it develops what it deems is sufficient capability.”191 This general
|
190 |
The definition of an “improvised nuclear device” used by the U.S. Department of Energy is: “a device, incorporating fissile materials, designed or constructed outside of an official Government agency and which has, appears to have, or is claimed to have the capability to produce a nuclear explosion.” DOE Order 457.1, approved February 7, 2006, available at http://www.directives.doe.gov/pdfs/doe/doetext/neword/457/o4571.pdf; accessed May 1, 2008. |
|
191 |
National Intelligence Estimate: The Terrorist Threat to the U.S. Homeland, available at http://dni.gov/press_releases/20070717_release.pdf; accessed May 1, 2008. |
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NUCLEAR TERRORISM THREATS AND RESPONSES
Cristina Hansell,
James Martin Center for Non-proliferation Studies,
Monterey Institute of International Studies
Concerns about nuclear terrorism have risen substantially over the past five years.
However, while world leaders have consistently mentioned these concerns both at home and in
international fora, there appears to be no common understanding of “nuclear terrorism”—the
term is applied to threats ranging from sabotage of a nuclear facility that may or may not result in
a release of radiation, to use of a radiological dispersal device, to use of a true nuclear device
(producing explosive energy through nuclear fission reactions). This paper begins with a brief
overview of U.S. and Russian statements related to the threat of nuclear terrorism, in order to
show that the understanding of this threat diverges. It then focuses on expert assessments of the
possibility of non-state actors constructing a nuclear device. Finally, it turns to current actions
that address this latter threat, and what remains to be done today, as well as the possible changes
in this threat in future years.
OFFICIAL VIEWS OF NUCLEAR TERRORISM IN THE
UNITED STATES AND RUSSIA
Official U.S. statements tend to refer to “Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)
terrorism,” without clearly breaking down the risks of each type of threat. As far as nuclear
terrorism is concerned, official statements mainly focus on the threat of terrorist use of a
radiological dispersal device or of an improvised nuclear device,190 with the former seen as more
likely. Sabotage of nuclear facilities is mentioned less often. The unclassified version of the
most recent U.S. National Intelligence Estimate (July 2007) indicates that al-Qa’ida will remain
the most serious threat to the United States and that the group will continue attempts to acquire
and deploy unconventional weapons: “We assess that al-Qa’ida will continue to try to acquire
and employ chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear material in attacks and would not
hesitate to use them if it develops what it deems is sufficient capability.”191 This general
190
The definition of an “improvised nuclear device” used by the U.S. Department of Energy is: “a device,
incorporating fissile materials, designed or constructed outside of an official Government agency and which has,
appears to have, or is claimed to have the capability to produce a nuclear explosion.” DOE Order 457.1, approved
February 7, 2006, available at http://www.directives.doe.gov/pdfs/doe/doetext/neword/457/o4571.pdf; accessed May
1, 2008.
191
National Intelligence Estimate: The Terrorist Threat to the U.S. Homeland, available at
http://dni.gov/press_releases/20070717_release.pdf; accessed May 1, 2008.
153
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assessment, including nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, and radiological threats
together (though possibly not including sabotage) is echoed in the October 2007 National
Strategy for Homeland Security,192 while the September 2006 National Strategy for Combating
Terrorism calls for “deny[ing] terrorists access to the materials, expertise, and other enabling
capabilities required to develop WMD,” mentioning in particular weapons-usable fissile
materials—a fact that points to construction of a nuclear explosive, not a radiological device, as
the greatest concern.193
Like in the United States, there is a great deal of official concern in Russia about the
possibility of nuclear terrorism. However, over the past few years the threat of sabotage to
nuclear facilities and radiological terrorism appears to have been seen as more of a threat than
that of a nuclear device, in contrast to the U.S. view. For example, Russia’s 2006 White Paper
on non-proliferation states that “although the probability of independent production of nuclear
explosive devices by terrorists is low, given its technical complexity, it is possible that terrorists
might develop primitive weapons using radioactive materials (so-called ‘dirty bombs’).”194
Further, the White Paper explains that the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts
of Nuclear Terrorism—a Russian initiative—is “designed to ensure the protection of both
civilian and military nuclear facilities against terrorists.”195
It should be noted, however, that neither Russia nor the United States are a monolith.
Stances on the threat vary from agency to agency and official to official. This naturally affects
views of what must be done to alleviate the threat. In order to better understand the expert
opinions that are informing policymaker stances, I now turn to assessments of the possibility of
non-state actors constructing a nuclear device.
CONSTRUCTION OF AN IMPROVISED NUCLEAR DEVICE BY NON-STATE
ACTORS: EXPERT ASSESSMENTS
Although no serious terrorist attempts to construct an improvised nuclear device (IND)
have yet been uncovered, terrorism experts cite increasing indications of terrorist groups desiring
to create and use such devices.196 This is a distinct change from a decade ago, when there
appeared to be little demand for such a capability, making the technical possibility of creating
such a device a moot question.197 Today, however, a very few groups, generally associated with
192
National Strategy for Homeland Security, available at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/homeland/nshs/2007/index.html, accessed May 1, 2008.
193
National Strategy for Combating Terrorism, available at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/nsct/2006/sectionV.html.
194
The Russian Federation and Nonproliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Delivery Systems:
Threats, Assessments, Problems and Solutions, English translation by Cristina Chuen, available at
http://cns.miis.edu/pubs/other/rusfed.htm; accessed May 1, 2008.
195
Ibid.
196
For a brief history of terrorist attacks and insightful assessment of terrorist trends, predicting that terrorist groups
are more likely to seek weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the future than they were in the past, see Richard
Falkenrath, “Confronting Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Terrorism,” Survival, V. 40, N. 3, Autumn 1998, pp.
42-65.
197
For an interesting overview of early al-Qa’ida efforts in the nuclear sphere, see David Albright, “Al Qaeda’s
Nuclear Program: Through the Window of Seized Documents,” available at
http://www.nautilus.org/archives/fora/Special-Policy-Forum/47_Albright.html; accessed May 1, 2008.
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al-Qa’ida, have voiced this desire, though it is not clear how determined they have been at
acquiring the capability. The trends are not encouraging, however: terrorists appear to be
seeking ever-increasing levels of destruction in order to increase the impact of each new attack.
In addition, increasing ties have been observed between these groups and elements in states that
might be able to help the terrorists achieve their goals. Even without state assistance, U.S.
nuclear weapons experts agree that some terrorist groups would be technically capable of
constructing a primitive nuclear device, if they were able to obtain the necessary fissile materials.
Former director of Los Alamos National Laboratory, Siegfried Hecker, has noted that some
Russian weapons experts agree that from a technical point of view the construction of the
simplest type of first-generation nuclear device is within the capabilities of certain non-state
actors.198
In examining the steps for terrorist acquisition of such a device, experts from the U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE) have noted that the key difficulty facing such an endeavor is
obtaining “access to special nuclear material” – highly enriched uranium (HEU) or
plutonium.199 The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has stated that its experts do not
believe that terrorists can enrich uranium or breed plutonium. Therefore, DHS avers that the
only way a terrorist could access this material is by theft from a fuel cycle facility, purchase on
the black market, or transfer from a state sponsor.200 An additional possible pathway to obtain
HEU suggested by a Russian study is the re-enrichment of low-enriched uranium. While this
runs contrary to the U.S. view that terrorists do not have access to enrichment technology, re-
enrichment might be a risk if non-state actors receive assistance from someone with access to a
state program. The Kurchatov Institute study of the risks of the proliferation of various nuclear
materials concluded that the risks posed by low-enriched uranium (LEU) exceeded those of HEU
by a factor of 39.201 While the underlying assumptions behind this estimate are not made public,
it appears that they were assuming that those stealing the nuclear materials had access to
enrichment capabilities. It is probable that the study was focusing on proliferation to state actors,
not terrorists. While even states have had difficulty creating enrichment capabilities, they clearly
have a better chance of doing so than non-state actors at present.
A gun-type device is easier to construct than a nuclear implosive device.202 Since a gun-
type bomb that employed HEU would have a yield of 10-15 kilotons, while a similar plutonium-
based gun-type device would result in a “fizzle yield” of 10-20 tons, preventing terrorist
198
Siegfried Hecker, comment made during his presentation of “Toward a comprehensive safeguards system:
Keeping fissile materials out of the terrorists’ hands.” Pir Center Conference on G8 Global Security Agenda:
Challenges and Interests Toward the St. Petersburg Summit, Moscow, April 22, 2006.
199
See K. Todd Wilber (National Nuclear Security Administration Office of Emergency Response), “Overview of
Radiological/Nuclear Devices and Response,” available at http://www.nlectc.org/training/nij2003/Wilber1.pdf;
accessed May 1, 2008.
200
“Nuclear Smuggling,” Department of Homeland Security Nuclear Assessment Program, available at
http://www.exportcontrol.org/library/conferences/1379/005_Proliferation_Threat_Brief-Nuclear_Smuggling_-
_Zachary_K.pdf; accessed May 1, 2008.
201
See Nikolai Ponomarev-Stepnoi, “Stsenarii razvitiia atomnoi energetiki Rossii v XXI veke” (Scenarios for the
Development of Atomic Energy in Russia in the 21st Century), Biulleten’ po atomnoi energii, December 2001, p. 7.
202
This view is widely held by U.S. experts. Sergey Pertsev, Head of the 12th Central Scientific Research Institute
of the Russian Defense Ministry has agreed with this view; conversation with author, October 4, 2007, Moscow. It
should be noted that a crude gun-type device would not likely result in an efficient use of the nuclear material, but
would create a nuclear yield.
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acquisition of this material is particularly critical.203 Unless technological advances, which are
not currently foreseen, should put enrichment capabilities within the reach of non-state actors,
this implies securing HEU should be the top priority. The other aspects of constructing a nuclear
device—the design and engineering aspects—despite their complexity, can be solved by
sophisticated terrorist groups. The Department Homeland Security notes that information on
gun-type and implosion-type designs is publicly available, though misinformation is as well.
While enriching uranium is very difficult, both from a technical and—especially—from
an engineering standpoint, U.S. experts do not view transforming civilian-use HEU materials
into the metal needed for an IND as overly difficult, given adequate knowledge of chemical
metallurgy (post-graduate chemistry studies appear to be viewed as sufficient). Further, other
than the uranium material itself, additional necessary materials are fairly readily available. As
one Argonne scientist put it, “it’s only a matter of chemistry and time.”204 In the civilian sphere,
HEU is used both as research reactor fuel and as targets for medical isotope production. In the
case of the latter, the U235 content in irradiated targets is typically still above 90 percent, due to
their relatively low burn up, while the spent target material can be contact handled after a fairly
short period of time due to the minimal amount of long-lived fission products in this material. A
recent study indicated that after three years of storage, the dose a terrorist would receive from
handling the material would be just 13-37 mrem/hour per gram (depending on the processing),
while 5-8 million mrem are required to cause immediate disorientation.205 (It should be noted
that it would not be necessary to handle more than 25 grams or so at a time, and after processing
the material would be even less radioactive.)
While U.S. experts concur with their Russian counterparts in the assessment that the risk
of a radiological attack is far greater than that of the use of an IND, the consequences of an IND
are so much greater that this latter risk remains an important U.S. concern. It is not clear
whether the Russian view of this risk is different, or whether it is risk tolerance in Russia that is
actually the driver behind the different level of concern focused at this threat. Nor have U.S.
experts ignored the possibility of sabotage of a nuclear facility. The DHS Nuclear Assessment
Program concerns include reactor attacks, as well as illegal dumping and scams, noting that
scams too can pose health and safety risks, as well as waste and/or divert time and effort from
more significant threats or enlarge search areas.206 However, DHS concludes that radiological
devices would create panic, but are not weapons of mass destruction, while it views a nuclear
attack as “a real possibility,” noting that “there are no insurmountable technical barriers to
designing and building an IND.”207
203
Stanislav Rodionov, “Could Terrorists Produce Low-Yield Nuclear Weapons?” High-Impact Terrorism:
Proceedings of a Russian-American Workshop (Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2002), pp. 156-159.
204
Interview of Argonne National Laboratory nuclear fuel specialist by author, April 2007.
205
George Vandegrift and Edward Fei, “Mo-99 Production Using LEU,” presented at the Institute of Nuclear
Materials Management Annual Meeting, Tucson, Arizona, July 2007.
206
Ibid.
207
Ibid.
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CURRENT ACTIONS TO REDUCE THE
IMPROVISED NUCLEAR DEVICE THREAT
The U.S. and Russian governments are both party to a variety of international agreements
that address the threat of nuclear terrorism, several of which are or could be used to reduce the
threat of terrorist acquisition of an IND. In addition, both countries have improved physical
security of nuclear sites, though more could be done. The United States has also committed to
the minimization of the use of HEU in the civilian sector, promising to convert all civilian
research reactors to LEU by 2014, while Russia has been involved in converting Soviet-supplied
research reactors abroad and repatriating Soviet-supplied HEU (though there is no similar
program in Russia to convert reactors and consolidate and secure HEU).
One of the first international actions came at the Moscow Nuclear Safety and Security
Summit in 1996, when a program was announced “on preventing and combating illicit
trafficking in nuclear material to ensure increased cooperation among our governments in all
aspects of prevention, detection, exchange of information, investigation and prosecution in cases
of illicit nuclear trafficking.”208 There have been many additional agreements since, which have
publicly committed Russia and the United States to sharing intelligence on illicit trafficking
incidents.209 However, the exchange of information in cases involving nuclear and radiological
materials remains inadequate, both bilaterally and with international organizations such as the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism,210
sponsored by Russia, is another tool that could be used to reduce IND risks. In its explanatory
note on the draft convention, Russia noted that the 1980 Convention on the Physical Protection
of Nuclear Material had substantial gaps when it came to countering acts of nuclear terrorism,
both at the stage of stopping the terrorist act and in eliminating its consequences. The nuclear
terrorism convention requires parties to take all practible measures to prevent and counter
preparations for nuclear terrorist attacks, though these are neither defined nor prioritized.211
Another recent initiative that may prove useful is the Global Initiative to Combat
Nuclear Terrorism, proposed by Presidents George W. Bush and Vladimir V. Putin in July 2006.
In the Joint Statement made at the June 2007 meeting on the initiative in Astana, they stated key
priorities included “preventing the availability of nuclear material to terrorists; minimizing the
use of highly enriched uranium and plutonium in civilian facilities and activities; [and]
strengthening our response capabilities to minimize the impact of any nuclear terrorism
208
Moscow Nuclear Safety and Security Summit, further information available at
http://www.g7.utoronto.ca/summit/1996moscow/declaration.html; accessed May 1, 2008.
209
In addition to joint statements, treaties, and commitments to international organizations such as the IAEA, the
two countries established a Counterterrorism Working Group in 2000, one of the goals of which is to improve
intelligence sharing.
210
The convention entered into force on July 7, 2007, and has been ratified by Russia but not yet by any other
nuclear weapons state. The text of the Convention can be found at http://www.un.int/usa/a-59-766.pdf; and
http://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/2007/webArticles/072407_nuclear_terrorism.htm; accessed May 1, 2008.
211
It should be noted that the Convention does not include a definition of terrorism, though it does indicate that
sabotage of a nuclear facility, as well as the use of INDs or radiological devices are all considered nuclear terrorism.
For further information on the Convention, see “International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear
Terrorism,” Inventory, available at http://cns.miis.edu/pubs/inven/pdfs/nucterr.pdf; accessed May 1, 2008.
157
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attack.”212 It should be pointed out, however, that the language on minimizing the use of HEU
and plutonium was apparently proposed by DOE officials in the division working on reactor
conversion and spent nuclear fuel return, and does not seem to have been vetted by those in
either the United States or Russia that are concerned with future nuclear power plants. If they
were, there would likely have been objections to including plutonium minimization. Nor is it
clear that this statement can be taken as official Russian acceptance of a need to reduce HEU use,
at least domestically.
The international agreements noted above are just a few examples of the agreements,
joint statements, and other international initiatives that exist in this sphere. However, it is not
clear how the international agreements interact, thus gaps or overlaps are possible. Further, not
enough has been done to implement the agreements domestically. Russia has improved its
national legislation related to controlling nuclear energy, export controls, and other related areas
dramatically over the past two decades, but continues to work on implementing regulations in
some areas (in particular, physical protection might be noted). The United States has a more
mature system, but has recently changed some measures to implement tighter security, due to
assessments that threats have increased. In 2008, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
implemented new security rules for non-power reactors, which will likely mean significant cost
increases. Indeed, the pulse reactor III at Sandia National Laboratory was shut down due to the
costs of implementing new physical protection measures (the increase in physical protection
costs at eight U.S. national laboratories since September 2001 have been estimated at $500
million per year).213 Security costs in other countries are also significant. The government of
Saxony, Germany, reported security savings of $13 million a year after repatriation of HEU fuel
from the reactor at Rossendorf back to Russia. Security costs must be paid every year, and are
only likely to increase. While improving security is one way to minimize the risk of HEU theft,
removing the material is likely to be the far more economical choice is most cases. A calculation
of the risks, costs and benefits should be done for each facility, and clear regulations developed
that are standardized worldwide, since each country is vulnerable to threats at other sites. The
United States and Russia, like other countries, must then do everything possible to make
legislation and regulations effective. Where nuclear trafficking is concerned, for example,
convictions and sentences in accordance with strict laws requiring serious penalties are necessary
if they are to have any impact on the terrorist threat. Furthermore, these sentences must be
publicized to have the desired deterrent effect.214
FUTURE MEASURES, FUTURE THREATS
As noted above, DOE and DHS experts do not believe that terrorists are capable of
enriching uranium, the material needed to create the simplest type of nuclear device. While
212
For further information regarding the G8 Global Initiative to Counter Nuclear Terrorism, see
http://www.g8.gc.ca/2002Kananaskis/gp_stat-en.pdf; accessed on April 6, 2008. See also,
http://www.state.gov/t/us/rm/69124.htm; accessed May 1, 2008.
213
Estimate cited by Frank von Hippel, “HEU in Critical Assemblies, Pulsed Reactors and Propulsion Systems,”
Technical Workshop on HEU Elimination, Oslo, June 17-18, 2006.
214
This is a problem both in Russia as well as in many other countries. For example, in the western European court
cases related to the A.Q. Khan trafficking ring there have been suspended sentences when individuals were
convicted at all. In South Africa, an individual was convicted but given no prison time.
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technological advances could make this capability more accessible in the future, this is not likely
to happen anytime soon. Thus, at the present time securing HEU is the most effective way to
prevent terrorists from creating such a device. Both Russia and the United States have made
progress in reducing access to HEU, but more needs to be done.215 The Soviet Union recognized
the need to reduce the accessibility of HEU when it decided to replace 80 percent enriched
uranium in research reactors sold to other countries with 36 percent HEU back in the 1970s.
Since that time, Russia has cooperated with the United States, other countries, and the IAEA to
remove HEU from a variety of Soviet-built research reactors abroad, and developed the
technologies to convert these reactors from HEU to LEU.216 However, consolidation of HEU
within Russia and conversion of Russian research reactors is sorely needed. Thanks to the
successes of the Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors and fuel take-back
programs, along with reactor shutdowns, the amount of HEU in civilian use has been
significantly reduced over the past decades. An increasing percentage of the HEU holdings in
civilian hands are in Russia, which has five of the top 20 civilian steady-state research reactors in
terms of HEU consumption.217 Of the remaining 15, only one will continue to use HEU fuel for
the foreseeable future (Germany’s FRM-II, which will be converted to use fuel with under 50
percent enrichment but cannot be converted to LEU using current technologies; it uses one 8 kg
fuel rod).218
Current plans for the expansion of nuclear energy may well pose additional risks in terms
of nuclear terrorism. One of the ways the international community is trying to improve the
monitoring of new nuclear facilities is through the introduction of “safeguards by design” –
incorporating the latest in enhanced safeguards technologies in facilities during the design stage,
to enhance proliferation resistance and improve the efficacy of IAEA monitoring and verification
of nuclear materials. It should be noted that new technologies can provide additional warning
signs and more time for inspectors to detect irregularities, but are not a cure-all. The new
technologies offer opportunities, but will only be meaningful if policymakers decide on
widespread adoption, and IAEA activities are altered to take advantage of the extra time and
information provided by the technologies. To date, however, the technology to build
proliferation-resistant reactors is as yet unproven; moreover, it must be remembered that current
programs like the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership are designing new reactors that are
215
The United States has increased requirements for the security of facilities with HEU. This is why the decision
was made to shut down the pulsed reactor at Sandia National Lab and use computer simulations instead – to reduce
security costs. Then U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham stated in 2004, “[A]fter operations of three years or
perhaps less, the Sandia Pulsed Reactor will no longer be needed, since computer simulations will be able to assume
its mission.… When its mission is complete, this reactor’s fuel will be removed from Sandia National Laboratories,
New Mexico, allowing us to reduce security costs at Sandia and further consolidate our nuclear materials.”
“Remarks Prepared for Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham for the Security Police Officer Training Competition,”
May 7, 2004.
216
For further information, see Russian Research Reactor Fuel Return Program, available at
http://www.nnsa.doe.gov/na-20/rrrfr.shtml; accessed May 1, 2008. For further information regarding the Reduced
Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors Program (RERTR), see http://www.rertr.anl.gov; accessed May 1, 2008.
See also the paper by Philipp Bleek and Laura Holgate in this volume.
217
These reactors are the SM-3, MIR M1, WWR-TS, IVV-2M, and WWR-M.
218
Four of the top 20 reactors are in the United States—of these, the Missouri University Research Reactor is
currently undergoing conversion, but the remaining three—the ATR (Idaho), HFIR (Oak Ridge), and NBSR
(National Institute of Standards and Technology, Dept. of Commerce)—are awaiting the development and
qualification of new LEU fuels. For further information on the RERTR Program, see http://www.rertr.anl.gov;
accessed May 1, 2008.
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proliferation-resistant, not proliferation-proof, and the designs may not prove economically
attractive to all global customers. It seems clear that before (and perhaps even when) these
reactors become available, significant construction of current power reactor designs and related
fuel cycle facilities will occur. This not only poses considerable materials, protection, control,
and accounting challenges, but will require great efforts to handle the back end of the fuel cycle,
and could dramatically increase sabotage risks.219 While these reactors are not likely to employ
HEU, plans call for the increased use of MOX fuel. Further, the study of new reactor fuels has,
to date, involved the use of both HEU and plutonium in critical facilities.
While many of the measures that might be taken to reduce the risk of terrorist acquisition
of an IND, from reducing the use of HEU and consolidating HEU holdings to improving
physical protection and intelligence sharing, are generally known, there is as yet no consensus on
precisely what such efforts should entail and how to prioritize them. An international
understanding on prioritization may not be possible, if a common definition of nuclear terrorism
cannot be found. However, even if Russia and the United States continue to have different views
of the relative threat posed by the risk of sabotage, use of a radiological dispersal device, or use
of an IND, they should still be able to work out a common understanding of how each of these
threats should be tackled. In some areas, a domestic consensus on risks, threats, and measures is
also necessary.
Plans to develop proliferation-resistant reactors could potentially help to reduce the threat
that terrorists acquire HEU. However, the sabotage threat requires measures to ensure that
facilities can withstand a terrorist attack. While there has been a great deal of discussion of
making certain that reactors can, for example, withstand an aircraft impact, there is as yet no
common definition of standards for anti-terrorist measures or a full understanding of what the
terrorist threat may entail. It should be noted that today, many nuclear reactors have containment
vessels but spent fuel stores can not withstand attack—if radiation release is a concern, this sort
of facility will have to be redesigned, as will requirements for future facilities.
As noted above, there are three pathways for terrorists to acquire the fissile material
needed for a nuclear device: theft from a fuel cycle facility, purchase on the black market, or
transfer from a state sponsor. Measures that can be taken to block these pathways include: 1)
eliminating HEU (the most certain way to prevent its acquisition by terrorists); 2) increasing
security (including both technical measures and security culture at facilities); 3) improving
intelligence sharing; and 4) increasing penalties for trafficking and related offenses, along with
enforcement and publicity. As key users and suppliers of nuclear technology, Russia and the
United States have a critical role to play in leading efforts to prevent terrorist use of an IND. At
a Russian State Duma seminar on nuclear terrorism issues on September 27, 2007, Russian
Deputy Foreign Minister Anatoly Safonov observed that while it is probably impossible to
prevent all terrorist attacks, governments must at least be able to tell their publics that they can
prevent nuclear terrorist attacks—and to do so must prevent access to WMD components.220
219
The Nuclear Energy Agency defines the stages of the fuel cycle as follows: “a) the so-called front-end which
extends from the mining of uranium ore until the delivery of fabricated fuel elements to the reactor site; b) fuel use
in the reactor, where fission energy is employed to produce electricity, and temporary storage at the reactor site; c)
the so-called back-end, which starts with the shipping of spent fuel to away-from-reactor storage or to a reprocessing
plant and ends with the final disposal of reprocessing Vitrified High-Level Waste or the encapsulated spent fuel
itself.” For further information, see http://www.nea.fr/html/ndd/reports/efc/efc02.pdf; accessed April 6, 2008.
220
For more information on the international seminar on Countering Nuclear and Radiological Terrorism, hosted by
the Russian State Duma Security Committee, see Cristina Hansell Chuen, “CNS Researcher Speaks on Nuclear
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This insightful statement goes to the heart of the matter: can we agree on the nature of the attack
we seek to prevent, the measures that can potentially be taken to prevent it, and ways to prioritize
and coordinate our preventive efforts?
Terrorism at Russian Duma,” October 4, 2007, available at http://cns.miis.edu/pubs/week/071005.htm; accessed
May 1, 2008.
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