U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham (shown in a January photo) yesterday announced the restructuring of a U.S. effort to recover uranium from overseas research reactors (AFP photo/Kazuhiro Nogi). U.S. Energy Department Restructures Efforts to Recover Uranium From Foreign Nuclear Reactors By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The U.S. Energy Department yesterday announced the restructuring of an effort to recover spent U.S.-origin nuclear fuel from foreign research reactors around the world (see GSN, Feb. 18). In February, the Energy Department’s inspector general released a report critical of the agency’s “takeback” policy, which allows foreign research reactors that use U.S. uranium fuel to return the spent material to the United States for disposal. As of 1993, 51 countries possessed more than 17,500 kilograms of U.S. highly enriched uranium, of which about 5,200 kilograms was eligible to be returned to the United States, according to the report...Full Story

IAEA Begins Limited Nuclear Inspections in Brazil; U.S. Expresses Confidence in Cooperation Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency yesterday began inspecting Brazilian nuclear operations without full access to all aspects of the country’s uranium enrichment systems, according to a Brazilian official (see GSN, April 8)...Full Story

Nuclear-Related Equipment Disappearing From Iraq International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei warned the U.N. Security Council this week that large amounts of nuclear-related equipment have been smuggled out of Iraq for apparent recycling in Europe, according to the Washington Post (see GSN, Jan. 16)...Full Story

	Thursday, April 15, 2004

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Says She Approved Purchase of North Korean Ballistic Missile Technology Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto said that she approved the purchase of North Korean missile technology in 1994, HiPakistan.com reported yesterday (see GSN, Feb. 24). In a letter to United Press International, Bhutto also said that during her second term, from 1994 to 1996, she rejected a budget request for Pakistan to develop longer-range ballistic missile technologies. Bhutto said that at the time she believed in “keeping parity with India” and did not see the need for developing missiles more advanced than those possessed by Pakistan’s South Asian rival, according to HiPakistan.com. Pakistan endured financial troubles after detonating a nuclear device in May 1998, Bhutto wrote. “If any swap (of nuclear technology for money) took place, it would be some time after May 1998 when Pakistan no longer had money to make payments,” she wrote, apparently referring to the international nuclear network involving Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan. “After Pakistan’s financial crisis in May 1998, there were hawks who argued that Pakistan could earn money selling nuclear technology,” her letter states (HiPakistan.com, April 15). Back to top       U.S. Defense Department Begins Testing New Biological, Chemical Detectors Today The U.S. Defense Department is expected today to begin a monthlong test of new biological and chemical agent detectors, according to the Washington Times (see GSN, Feb. 23).  As part of the exercise, a large balloon equipped with a strobe light will float outside of the Pentagon, the Times reported. The Pentagon also plans to release additional balloons equipped with instruments through May 15, and a 100-foot tower will be erected in Arlington County, Va. (Washington Times, April 15). Back to top

U.S. Energy Department Restructures Efforts to Recover Uranium From Foreign Nuclear Reactors By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The U.S. Energy Department yesterday announced the restructuring of an effort to recover spent U.S.-origin nuclear fuel from foreign research reactors around the world (see GSN, Feb. 18). In February, the Energy Department’s inspector general released a report critical of the agency’s “takeback” policy, which allows foreign research reactors that use U.S. uranium fuel to return the spent material to the United States for disposal. As of 1993, 51 countries possessed more than 17,500 kilograms of U.S. highly enriched uranium, of which about 5,200 kilograms was eligible to be returned to the United States, according to the report. The inspector general’s report warned that the United States was likely to only recover about half of the eligible material, in part because of the takeback policy’s voluntary nature.  Yesterday, the Energy Department announced that the effort would be shifted from the Environmental Management Office to its National Nuclear Security Administration, which has a “proven track record in nonproliferation.” “This consolidation will refocus and strengthen our international campaign to deny terrorists opportunities to seize nuclear materials and will also increase our effectiveness in achieving the reduction and eventual elimination of the use of weapons-usable materials in civil commerce worldwide,” Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said in a press statement. Abraham said that he ordered NNSA to develop a “threat-based prioritization” for the recovery of those materials eligible to be returned to the United States. In addition, the office has been ordered to work with the State Department to improve the diplomatic strategy to encourage full participation in the effort. According to the inspector general’s report, 12 of the 33 countries with U.S. materials have chosen not to participate in the takeback effort, including countries of proliferation concern to the United States such as Iran and Pakistan. Abraham also said in his statement yesterday that he instructed his department to begin work on extending the deadline for the takeback policy, which is set to effectively expire in 2006. Some experts have said that extending the policy could make other countries more likely to convert their research reactors to use proliferation-resistant fuels, while other experts argued an extension could actually discourage the conversion of research reactors to use low enriched uranium fuel.  Matthew Bunn of Harvard University’s Project on Managing the Atom today praised the transfer of the takeback program, calling the move a “welcome and overdue” step. He told Global Security Newswire that it had originally been a “mistake” to place the effort under the control of the Environmental Management Office, which has a domestic focus. Bunn also said, though, that the Energy Department has yet to announce an effort to place all HEU recovery activities under the control of one agency. The February DOE inspector general’s report warned that the Energy Department lacked an effort to recover the more than 12,000 kilograms of U.S.-origin highly enriched uranium not included in the takeback policy. A “task force” is needed, Bunn said, to travel to the most high-risk sites throughout the world and recover the highly enriched uranium “as quickly as possible” to prevent its theft or diversion. Last week, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) introduced legislation that would create such a task force under the control of the National Nuclear Security Administration. Feinstein’s bill calls for the use of “tailored” and “flexible” incentives to secure host-country cooperation in the removal of nuclear materials and would allocate $40 million in fiscal 2005 for the task force’s efforts. “This legislation will give our government the direction, tools and resources necessary to remove nuclear materials from vulnerable sites around the world in an expeditious manner. We have little time to spare,” Feinstein said. Back to top       IAEA Begins Limited Nuclear Inspections in Brazil; U.S. Expresses Confidence in Cooperation Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency yesterday began inspecting Brazilian nuclear operations without full access to all aspects of the country’s uranium enrichment systems, according to a Brazilian official (see GSN, April 8). “The IAEA representatives will be able to carry out the inspections stipulated in the accords signed by Brazil but the overseeing of the uranium enrichment systems will only be done through the internal television circuit,” said Andrea Fontinelle, spokeswoman for the Brazilian Science and Technology Ministry. Brazil agreed to allow the agency some access to its uranium enrichment program, but Fontinelle said the nation is not required to disclose every detail of its process (Xinhua News Agency, April 15). Meanwhile, the United States expressed confidence in Brazil’s commitment to nuclear nonproliferation, while also calling for the South American nation to adopt an Additional Protocol to its nuclear safeguards, Agence France-Presse reported. “We believe they (Brazil) are committed to meeting their international obligations and this is a matter that is best handled by the IAEA in a multilateral way,” Roger Noriega, U.S. assistant secretary of state for the Western Hemisphere, said yesterday. “We do not want to make this a bilateral issue, because quite frankly the U.S. has confidence that Brazil is a responsible actor,” he added. Last week, an anonymous State Department official called on Brazil to adopt an Additional Protocol. Some nonproliferation experts worry that if the United States and the United Nations do not insist on inspections for Brazil, it could undermine Washington’s effort to halt nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar, April 15). Brazilian Defense Minister Jose Viegas said last Thursday that Brazil does not intend to sign the Additional Protocol to its IAEA agreement, adding that the country is not developing nuclear weapons, Reuters reported. “Right now there is nobody in the Brazilian government saying we should sign (the Additional Protocol),” Viegas said (Reuters/Yahoo!Noticias, April 8, GSN translation). Back to top       Nuclear-Related Equipment Disappearing From Iraq International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei warned the U.N. Security Council this week that large amounts of nuclear-related equipment have been smuggled out of Iraq for apparent recycling in Europe, according to the Washington Post (see GSN, Jan. 16). In a letter circulated to Security Council members this week, ElBaradei said that U.N. satellite imagery detected “the extensive removal of equipment, and in some instances, removal of entire buildings” from sites that were subject to U.N. inspections prior to Operation Iraqi Freedom. An IAEA investigation found that “large quantities of scrap, some of it contaminated” has been smuggled out of Iraq, ElBaradei wrote. ElBaradei also warned that the disappearing materials could affect the agency’s work in assessing prewar Iraq’s nuclear efforts, according to the Post. “It is not clear whether the removal of these items has been the result of looting activities in the aftermath of the recent war in Iraq, or as part of systematic efforts” to clean up contaminated nuclear sites in Iraq, ElBaradei wrote. “In any event these activities may have a significant impact on the agency’s continuity of knowledge of Iraq’s remaining nuclear-related capabilities and raise concern with regards to the proliferation risk associated with dual-use material and equipment disappearing to unknown destinations,” he added (Colum Lynch, Washington Post, April 15). Back to top       U.S. Wastes Billions on Nuclear Weapons Stockpile Research and Production, NRDC Report Says The Bush administration is spending 12 times more on developing nuclear weapons than it is on efforts to secure and reduce existing nuclear weapons materials, according to a report released Tuesday by the Natural Resources Defense Council (see GSN, Jan. 29). “The Energy Department is asking Congress for $6.8 billion for nuclear weapons projects for next year’s budget — double what we spent a decade ago,” report author Christopher Paine, a senior policy analyst at the council, said in a prepared statement. “Spending billions to extend the life of thousands of Cold War nuclear warheads is a colossal waste of taxpayer dollars,” he added. The report, “Weaponeers of Waste,” focuses on six Energy Department nuclear weapons projects, including the Dual Axis Radiographic Hydrotest Facility, the Advanced Simulation and Computing Initiative Campaign, the National Ignition Facility and the Pit Manufacturing and Certification Campaign. Developing new nuclear weapons could lead to another arms race with countries such as China and Russia, the report states. The council makes several recommendations, including: ending funding for preparations to resume nuclear testing and for new nuclear weapons designs, renewing efforts with other nations to reduce stockpiles of nuclear weapons and materials, and consolidating the size of the U.S. nuclear weapons complex (Natural Resources Defense Council report, April 13). Back to top       Cheney Warns of Asian Arms Race, Possible Sale of North Korea Nuclear Weapons to Terrorists North Korea’s nuclear ambitions could lead to an nuclear arms race in Asia, or the acquisition of nuclear weapons by terrorists, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney warned today (see GSN, April 14). “There are nations in the region that have the technical capacity to produce nuclear weapons who have not done so,” Cheney said in a speech to university students in Shanghai. “If North Korea becomes a nuclear power then those nations may conclude that their only option is to develop their own capability, and then we’d have a nuclear arms race unleashed in Asia,” he added. Some experts believe Japan would be the mostly likely candidate to develop nuclear weapons to counter a North Korean threat, according to Reuters. Cheney also said Washington is worried that North Korea could provide nuclear weapons to a terrorist organization. He said al-Qaeda  has attempted to acquire such weapons and that new information from Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan indicated that North Korea could have at least three nuclear devices (see GSN, April 13). “We worry that, given what they’ve done in the past and given what we estimate to be their current capability, that North Korea could well, for example, provide this kind of technology to someone else or possibly to, say, a terrorist organization,” said Cheney, who left China today for South Korea at the end of a weeklong trip to Asia. He added that the United States would maintain diplomatic pressure and negotiations with Pyongyang. “We’ll continue to … do our level best to achieve this objective by diplomatic means and through negotiations. But it is important that we make progress in this area,” Cheney said. He added that North Korea needed external aid “given the sad state of their economy. … In order simply for that regime to survive, they must understand that no one in the region wants them to develop those weapons” (Adam Entous, Reuters, April 15). Back to top       U.S., Russian Experts to Discuss Threats to Russian Nuclear Arms This Month in Moscow U.S and Russian nuclear experts are scheduled to meet later this month in Moscow to launch a yearlong modeling exercise to assess possible terrorist threats against the Russian nuclear arsenal, the Christian Science Monitor reported today (see GSN, April 7). One concern is that terrorists may use cyberwarfare to trigger a Russian nuclear weapons launch, according to the Monitor. Experts said, though, that Russia’s nuclear weapons network, which has no connections to the Internet, makes it more secure against high-tech attacks. “It’s like having a first-generation Mercedes Benz that no modern repair center can fix,” says Maxim Shingarkin, a former major in the Russian Defense Ministry’s 12th Main Directorate, which protects the nuclear arsenal. Another concern is collusion between terrorists and Russian nuclear personnel due, in part, to the poor condition of the Russian military, according to the Monitor. “There’s now the question of insider collusion, and if you have people on the inside sharing information about potential vulnerabilities, you quadruple the problem,” said Bruce Blair, head of the Center for Defense Information. Terrorists seeking to work with Russian insiders still face difficulties, said Matthew Bunn of Harvard University’s Project on Managing the Atom. “The connection between the guy in a position to steal, and al-Qaeda, is a pretty difficult step,” Bunn said. “It’s not like you can walk in wearing a white turban waving a million dollars around, and expect to get anywhere,” he added. Terrorists might also attempt direct attacks on Russian nuclear facilities, as Chechen militants have already apparently looked at trying, the Monitor reported.  “This is very worrisome,” Bunn said. “The basic assumption is that the intelligence services are so good, they’ll know (when intruders are) coming. (But) if they don’t know, they’re going to be in trouble,” he said (Scott Peterson, Christian Science Monitor, April 15). Back to top       Seychelles Ratifies Nuclear Test Ban Treaty The Seychelles deposited its instrument of ratification for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty on Tuesday, according to the CTBT Organization (see GSN, April 14). To date, 171 countries have signed the pact and 112 have ratified it, including 32 of the 44 nations whose ratifications are necessary for the treaty to enter into force (CTBT Organization release, April 15). Back to top

Plague Expert Begins Two-Year Prison Term Former Texas Tech University Researcher Thomas Butler has begun a two-year term at a federal prison, the Los Angeles Times reported today (see GSN, March 11). The 63-year-old plague expert was convicted in December of diverting payments from drug companies for clinical trials to his bank account, thereby defrauding Texas Tech University, as well as shipping plague samples without the proper permit to research associates in Tanzania.  He was acquitted of causing a plague scare last year in Lubbock after declaring 30 vials of the bacteria missing. Butler later told the FBI he had mistakenly destroyed the vials (Los Angeles Times, April 15). Back to top       British Scientists Develop Biological Agent Detection System Scientists at the United Kingdom’s Defense, Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down have developed biological sensors based on antibodies, a system which could be used to detect bioterror agents, Biotech Week reported (see GSN, April 9). “Because these [sensors] use the same recognition systems as living sensors, we can tell in real time whether there has been an attack,” said Carl Mayers, a researcher at the laboratory. Based on antibodies — the natural defenses animals produce when attacked by microbes — the detection system can tell the difference between closely related pathogens. “We have developed a way to build antibodies into sensors, which will react when a specific target such as a biological weapons agent is identified,” Mayers said. “These antibodies are usually only produced in humans and animals, but we have found a way of persuading bacteria to make them for us, allowing us to grow them in simple fermentors. We can also modify them to change their characteristics, so they work well in the different sensors we need,” he added. The new systems can be produced more cheaply and quickly than animal-based production systems for antibodies (Biotech Week, April 14). Back to top

Contractors Remove VX Samples From Newport Depot U.S. Army contractors at the Newport Chemical Depot in Indiana last month extracted a small amount of VX from the depot’s stockpile to test the neutralization process that will be used to destroy the nerve agent, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, April 9). About 6 gallons of VX were removed from containers at the depot without incident, said depot commander Lt. Col. Joseph Marquart. The samples were sent to Army laboratories in Maryland in a series of flights that were completed last week, Army spokeswoman Terry Arthur said. She added that the results of the tests were expected in about two months. The neutralization of the Newport depot’s VX stockpile is expected to begin by August after a series of tests to assess the neutralization process, Marquart said. “There should be no surprises once we begin operations,” he said (Rick Callahan, Associated Press/Indianapolis Star, April 14). Back to top       Japan to Build Facility Next Year in China to Dispose of World War II-Era Weapons Japan is expected in March 2005 to begin preparing a facility in northeastern China to help dispose of thousands of Japanese chemical munitions left behind after World War II (see GSN, Sept. 19, 2003). About 670,000 chemical munitions are believed to have been buried near the city of Harbaling, where the incinerator will be built, according to the Kyodo News Service. Japan and China are expected to reach a final agreement on the plan by the end of next week, officials said yesterday (Kyodo News Service/BBC Worldwide Monitoring, April 14). Back to top

Space-Based Missile Interceptor Project Stays on Course by Borrowing Funds Contractors for a Kinetic Energy Interceptor that can destroy enemy ballistic missiles in their boost phase will borrow heavily from other missile defense programs to complete work in eight years, Inside the Pentagon reported today (see GSN, Feb. 23). The $4.5 billion KEI effort is on an accelerated schedule relative to similar missile defense development programs, which can take up to 15 years to field, according to retired Army Brig. Gen. Dan Montgomery, Northrop Grumman’s KEI program manager. To maintain the Missile Defense Agency’s timetable for the project, the prime KEI contractor will adapt technology designated for other programs being developed by Northrop Grumman and its 24 partners (Jeremy Feiler, Inside the Pentagon, April 15).   Back to top

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