News & Views: Page 2

The Onion Explains Nuclear Non-Proliferation

This “Onion Explains Nuclear Non-Proliferation” video from The Onion made us laugh. A lot.  We only wish the problems were as simple as employing a handful of really huge guys.

The truth is,​ instead of being an issue that belongs on the History Channel, nuclear technology affects our lives every day. The materials that could make a nuclear bomb or those that could be used in a dirty bomb are spread out across many sites that aren’t even military.

​Hundreds ​of ​nuclear power plants and research reactors exist or are being built, and nuclear ​materials are used in research, industry and medicine on a daily basis.

Oh, and that line about “not being able to control” the doomsday scenario? There is a way for you to get involved: voice your support for 5 Priorities for global nuclear security.

Washington Post: We Need To Take The Dirty Bomb Threat Seriously

Sam Nunn and Andrew Bieniawski of Nuclear Threat Initiative recently wrote an important piece for the Washington Post:

Unlike a nuclear weapon, a radioactive dirty bomb would not cause catastrophic levels of death and injury, but depending on its chemistry, form and location, it could leave billions of dollars in damage due to the costs of evacuation, relocation and cleanup — and the inevitable follow-on threats could have severe economic and psychological repercussions. Buildings would likely have to be demolished and the debris removed. Access to a contaminated area could be denied for years as a site is cleaned well enough to meet even minimum environmental guidelines for protecting the public.

The materials that could be used to wreak such havoc are dispersed across thousands of sites in more than 100 countries, and many of them are poorly secured. Concerns about the Islamic State are a powerful reminder of what’s at stake — and should provide impetus for governments, the medical community and industry globally to immediately secure all such materials or replace them with alternative technologies.

Read the full article in the Washington Post.

It’s official! 2016 NSS: March 31-April 1 in Washington, DC

It’s official! The White House has officially announced the dates and location of the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit.

The summit will be held from March 31-April 1, 2016, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC.

The “when” and “where” are answered, but one big question remains: will the summit provide a sufficient legacy? Let’s make sure that the 2016 summit—which could be the last meeting of international leaders for a long time devoted solely to the issue of nuclear security—produces meaningful, lasting results for an ongoing and sustainable nuclear security process.

Make your voice heard; tell your nation’s leaders that this is a key opportunity for our nuclear future. We need the world’s leaders to make agreements that implement the 5 Priorities—measures that set up a system that is comprehensive, open, rigorous, and sustainable, and that over time reduces the amount of dangerous nuclear materials out there.

Please share the 5 Priorities on your social media sites with the #5Priorities hashtag. Our leaders are listening to us; let’s make our voices heard!

The CPPNM Amendment Magic Number is now 14!

If you’ve already read about the problem of insufficient international agreements, you know that there are only a couple of agreements about how we protect nuclear materials, and one needs more international support to really work. Well, we have some big news: On Friday, July 31, the United States officially ratified the 2005 Amendment to the Convention on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material. Once 14 more nations ratify the amendment (bringing the ratification number up to 2/3 of signatories), the amendment will go into full force.

This probably wasn’t on the front page of your local newspaper, and that’s unfortunate—because this is an important step to prevent nuclear terrorism. The CPPNM is the only international agreement that addresses the security of the kinds of nuclear materials that are used in nuclear weapons, such as highly-enriched uranium (HEU) and plutonium.

Under the original terms of the treaty, there’s an alarming gap: the treaty only requires nations to physically protect these dangerous nuclear materials when they’re being transported internationally—meaning that there’s no obligation under this treaty for nations to protect them when they’re being used, stored, or transported within their countries.

This amendment will fix that by requiring member countries to keep HEU and plutonium under physical protection (although there’s an exception when they’re in military hands—one of the gaps addressed by Priority #1). That means that they’ll at least have to use minimum security measures, like guards, whenever they’re using, storing, or transporting it—making it that much harder for the wrong people to get their hands on the most dangerous nuclear materials. The amendment also provides for more international cooperation on other nuclear security matters. There are gaps in this agreement​​—particularly that it only applies to peaceful uses like power generation, and not materials in military programs​​—but it will help protect some of the most vulnerable materials that exist today.

Unfortunately, the amendment won’t enter into force until two-thirds of the countries that are part of the CPPNM have ratified it. With the recent addition of the United States (as well as Turkey and Italy), we only need 14 more signatories to ratify the amendment!

Here are the signatories who haven’t yet ratified the amendment. If you’re a citizen of one of those countries, make sure your voice is heard! Call on your government to ratify the 2005 amendment today!

The Iran Nuclear Agreement

As commentators all over the world react to the news that the negotiators in Vienna have reached an agreement with Iran on their nuclear program, we think it’s important to remember that this agreement isn’t the end of the process—particularly given that Iran is only one of many nations that potentially could have access to the kinds of dangerous nuclear materials that could be used in a nuclear bomb or dirty bomb.

We need global, comprehensive nuclear security to remain a prominent issue at the forefront of the conversation, both domestically and internationally, and we need our leaders to agree to implement the 5 Priorities at the 2016 Nuclear Security summit to ensure an ongoing, sustainable process to create a culture of nuclear security around the world.