In Focus

This section presents a rotating collection of resources that are especially relevant in the light of current world events.

Fuel rods ready for inspection at a fuel fabrication facility. Source: D. Calma/IAEA

International Nuclear Fuel Bank Developments

To help prevent the spread of uranium enrichment technology, NTI has pledged $50 million to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to help create a low-enriched uranium stockpile to support nations that make the sovereign choice not to build indigenous nuclear fuel cycle capabilities. NTI's funds will be released if the IAEA takes the necessary steps to set up the fuel bank and other nations provide $100 million in matching funds. On December 26, 2007, President Bush signed into law a $50 million appropriation toward this effort. Click here »

Nuclear Trafficking Resources

Since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, there have been over a dozen confirmed incidents of fissile material trafficking around the world.

NTI and the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies have gathered these resources on nuclear trafficking, including databases, an issue brief and world map of civilian highly enriched uranium stocks. Read an overview of confirmed proliferation-significant incidents of fissile material trafficking in the Newly Independent States (1991 - 2007). Click here »

SECURING THE BOMB 2007

Securing the Bomb 2007, commissioned by the Nuclear Threat Initiative, finds a dangerous gap in efforts to thwart nuclear terrorism and calls for urgent global campaign to reduce the risk.

The report provides a comprehensive assessment of efforts to secure and remove vulnerable nuclear stockpiles around the world and a detailed action plan for keeping nuclear weapons and their essential ingredients out of terrorist hands.

Read the Executive Summary (396K PDF) or the Full Report (2.54M PDF)
Read the News Release
Visit washingtonpost.com for special Securing the Bomb 2007 interactive features.
Watch the Securing the Bomb slide show

Nuclear Terrorism

		Primer on WMD: Nuclear Terrorism — WMD411 collection of resources
		Nuclear Terrorism Tutorial — provides an overview of the nuclear terrorism threat and prevention options
		Blocking the Terrorist Pathway to the Bomb — provides an analytical framework for considering the kinds of actions needed to prevent nuclear terrorism
		The Demand for Black Market Fissile Material — looks at states and terrorist groups that have actively sought stolen nuclear materials

Fuel test at Department of Energy's Advanced Test Reactor at Idaho National Laboratory.
Photo source: http://www.anl.gov

Civilian HEU Reduction and Elimination

The most difficult challenge for a terrorist organization seeking to build a nuclear weapon or improvised nuclear device is obtaining fissile material, either plutonium or highly enriched uranium (HEU).

This section of the web site identifies the terrorist risks posed by civilian use of highly enriched uranium (HEU), discusses proposals for consolidating, reducing, and eliminating the civilian use of HEU, and identifies political, social, economic, and technical impediments to the elimination of civilian use of HEU. Also included is an interactive map showing civil HEU stocks around the world. Click here »

WMD411

WMD411 is a comprehensive resource guide for those interested in efforts to prevent the spread and the use of weapons of mass destruction. It is produced by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies for the Nuclear Threat Initiative.

WMD411 covers a wide range of topics: definitions and effects of weapons of mass destruction, production, proliferation and use of WMD, terrorism, strategies of curbing WMD proliferation and case studies.
Click here »

North Korea in Focus

In an action plan released at the conclusion of the fifth round of the Six-Party Talks held February 8 - 13, 2007 in Beijing, the government of North Korea agreed to begin the process of nuclear disarmament in exchange for food, fuel, and other aid. According to the tentative agreement, which still must be approved by the governments of China, Japan, Russia, the United States, and North and South Korea, Pyongyang will shut down the Yongbyon nuclear facility, discuss a list of nuclear programs that are to be abandoned, and allow IAEA inspectors back into the country within 60 days in exchange for emergency energy assistance equivalent to 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil. During that same period, both Tokyo and Washington will engage in bilateral talks with Pyongyang and the United States will begin removing North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism and will advance the process of removing trade sanctions.

In this section, you will find all NTI resources related to North Korea, including missile chronologies, capabilities and maps, and an overview of its nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs. Click here »

Past success stories

Sunflowers near Pervomaysk, Ukraine, were planted where missiles silos used to be.

From Silos to Sunflowers

With the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine was one of the four former Soviet republics to inherit nuclear weapons. Strategically located, Ukraine's territory held the third largest nuclear arsenal in the world: with 2,000 nuclear warheads, this arsenal outranked those of China, France or the United Kingdom.

In January 1994 Ukraine, Russia and the United States signed a Trilateral Agreement, confirming Ukraine's commitment to return the nuclear warheads to Russia in exchange for power reactor fuel from Russia and security guarantees from the United States. Senators Richard Lugar and Sam Nunn succeeded in getting the Congress to approve legislation to give Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Russia support for reducing the nuclear and other dangerous weapons on their territories. This support extended beyond removing the missiles and dismantling the silos. The United States also helped build housing for the military personnel and their families who no longer had to guard and launch these missiles.

Then U.S. Secretary of Defense William Perry was directly involved in the transformation of the silos around Pervomaysk over a period of three years... Read more »

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