nuclear-news

World leaders meeting to counter dangers of nuclear terrorism

World leaders seek action to counter nuclear terrorism risk-draft BY FREDRIK DAHL, VIENNA Mon Mar 17, 2014 (Reuters) – World leaders are expected to call next week for more action to minimize civilian use of highly-enriched nuclear fuel to help prevent al Qaeda-style militants from obtaining atomic bombs, a draft summit statement shows…….

A senior U.S. administration official said the number of countries possessing HEU and plutonium – which she called “the world’s most dangerous materials” – had significantly declined.

“Twelve countries are now HEU-free, and a significant number of former nuclear facilities no longer possess HEU or plutonium,” said Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, coordinator on defense policy, weapons of mass destruction and arms control.

But much remains to be done: As of late last year, 30 countries had at least 1 kg of HEU in their civilian stocks, including several Western states and others such as Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Belarus, the International Panel on Fissile Materials says on its website. Twenty-seven nations still had different types of research and other reactors using HEU, with Russia having the most, the data showed.

A senior U.N. official last year told Reuters that nuclear and radioactive materials were still going missing and the information the U.N. atomic agency receives about such incidents may be just the tip of the iceberg.

“DIRTY BOMB”….  a so-called “dirty bomb” is seen as a more likely threat than an atomic bomb: conventional explosives are used to disperse radiation from a radioactive source, which can be found in hospitals or other places that may not be very well secured………http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/17/us-nuclear-security-summit-idUSBREA2G0SF20140317

March 17, 2014 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized