Abstract:

Nikolay Redin, deputy head of the department of security of information, nuclear materials, and facilities of the Russian Ministry of Atomic Energy (Minatom), told a Moscow press conference on 28 October 1998 that in the past three years there have been no cases involving the theft of nuclear materials in Russia. Redin defined the terms 'nuclear materials' as including only 'materials with enrichment levels above 80-90%, which are suitable for use in nuclear weapons.' This phrase could be interpreted to mean that Minatom has not registered any thefts of weapons-useable Uranium or Plutonium in the past three years. Redin also pointed out that in the previous three-year period, from 1992-1995, there had been 30 incidents in Russia involving the theft of nuclear materials and radioactive isotopes. He did not specify how many of these 30 previous cases involved weapons-useable 'nuclear materials' and how many involved 'radioactive isotopes,' by which he presumably meant isotopes which do not have weapons applications. Redin attributed the drop in cases of radioactive materials theft to international efforts to improve nuclear materials protection, control, and accounting (MPC&A) in Russia. Redin specifically cited the work of the Russian Methodological and Training Center (RMTC), which trains Russian and NIS specialists in the theory and practice of MPC&A, as playing an important role in reducing theft of nuclear materials. RMTC was established in 1995 with assistance from the US Department of Energy and the European Union.

Abstract Number:  19980690
Headline:  Za tri goda v Rossii ne zaregistrirovano ni odnogo khishcheniya yadernykh materialov--Minatom
Date:  28 October 1998
Bibliography:  Interfax, 28 October 1998