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Layered Defense Needed Against Global Threat of Nuclear Terrorism, NNSA Chief Says
Multiple layers of defense are needed to prevent an act of nuclear terrorism, National Nuclear Security Administration chief Linton Brooks said last week in touting the array of U.S. security initiatives (see GSN, May 22). “Our security assistance programs abroad dramatically reduce the risk of nuclear material theft,” Brooks said Friday at the Congressional Breakfast Club. “However, every security system ultimately depends on the people operating it — the so-called ‘human factor.’ Motivated by greed, coercion, or debt, facility insiders may successfully divert nuclear materials. This problem is compounded by the large number of nuclear facilities out there — each presenting a unique opportunity for material diversion.” “Established crime groups are operating on the periphery of many of these facilities,” he added. “These groups are often engaged in smuggling a variety of goods. If a single nuclear smuggling network materializes and operates successfully, even for a short period, a ‘goal quantity’ of nuclear material may reach our enemies. There is only one way to combat a threat this diverse and complex — a redundant and layered defense.” “If human error or corruption enables smugglers to bypass one layer, our only hope is to catch them at the next,” Brooks said. He noted a number of U.S. initiatives. They include: the 2005 Bratislava agreement to boost nuclear security efforts in Russia, which is expected to be finished in 2008; the Global Threat Reduction Initiative to lower the danger posed by radioactive material; the Megaports Initiative to place radiation detectors at foreign ports; and complementary Second Line of Defense efforts to use sensors at border crossings, airports and seaports that could be used to smuggle nuclear material (U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration release, May 19). The agency said in a release yesterday that the 2-year-old Global Threat Reduction Initiative has: removed more than 200 kilograms of weaponizable highly enriched uranium from facilities around the world; recovered and secured more than 2,700 surplus U.S. radiological sources; shifted three research reactors from HEU use to low-enriched uranium; and established and improved physical security at more than 400 locations globally that stored radiological material (NNSA release, May 24).
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