Nuclear experts explain how the Iran nuclear deal cuts off pathways to nuclear weapons

I agree with Obama that the pathways [for Iran to build nuclear weapons] are cut off. … Overall, it’s very good.”

“The inspection protocol,” she said, means that “the international inspectorate is going to be inspecting all the way from mines through centrifuge manufacturing. They will see if Iran is trying to break out.”

Former LANL chemist blogs on all things nuclear By Anne Constable The New Mexican , 26 July 15One Santa Fean paying close attention to the historic nuclear deal with Iran is Cheryl Rofer, a retired Los Alamos National Laboratory chemist who has worked on environmental cleanup projects in Estonia and Kazakhstan.

On Nuclear Diner, the blog she writes with two other people, Rofer posts her own views about Iran agreeing to curb its nuclear program in return for the end of United Nations sanctions, as well as topics such as civilian power reactors, nuclear weapons and nonproliferation. “I’m trying to write things other people aren’t writing that I think important,” she said in a recent interview.

Sometimes, she admits, she gets into the “wonky weeds,” but Nuclear Diner’s goal is to “give explanations that help people make sense of what they are seeing in the news.”

Last Sunday was an example of such a post. It addressed concerns about the verification provisions of the Iran nuclear deal. “Not mentioned is that all the parties to the agreement have access to highly detailed photographs of the earth’s surface, updated frequently,” she wrote. “Those photos are part of what the government calls National Technical Means. In the United States, it is run by the National Reconnaissance Office.

“But there’s yet another layer of verification. Satellite photos are easily available to the public. Look up your house on Google Earth or Google Maps. It’s fun, and a lot of people do it.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors will have access to Iranian uranium mines and mills, processing facilities, and centrifuge factories, she pointed out. “All of these facilities can also be watched from above. Mines are easier to see than centrifuge factories, but the centrifuge factories have additional verification measures to open up their visibility.”

She writes, “The [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] verification is tight enough that, in order to make a bomb, Iran would have to open up a parallel chain from mine to centrifuge. Only one link in that chain, one facility, needs to be uncovered.”…..

Susan Voss, a nuclear engineer said she supports the new Iran deal, and “I agree with Obama that the pathways [for Iran to build nuclear weapons] are cut off. … Overall, it’s very good.”

While “Iran does have a history of concealing plants and not totally coming clean on some experiments,” it has been adhering to the joint plan for action for the last year, she noted, and it has “given up so much in this. That suggests to me they really don’t have the desire to build a nuclear weapon.”

The U.S. has signed agreements with other countries “without knowing the entire history of what they did,” she said. “It’s the future that’s more important,” and the deal “really nails [that] down.”

Some of the doubters wanted to keep Iran from developing all forms of nuclear power, but Rofer pointed out that the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty gives nations the right to peaceful uses of nuclear power. Moreover, as the president pointed out, there is no international consensus on a complete ban.

“It would be nice if Iran had no enrichment program, but that’s not going to happen,” Rofer said.

And she disputes claims that the Iranians would be able to hide activities not allowed under the deal. “We’re looking at them all the time. If something happened, the NGOs, governments, a gaggle of people across the Internet are going to notice,” she said.

The deal was endorsed Monday by the U.N. Security Council and the European Union foreign ministers. Congress, where many Republicans oppose it, has 60 days to consider the deal……….http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/health_and_science/former-lanl-chemist-blogs-on-all-things-nuclear/article_e9667750-12d0-5734-8299-9c6b287034ba.html

July 27, 2015 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Iran, politics international

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