
Samantha Neakrase
Senior Director
Abstract: Terrorism in all its forms is a major threat to national security. Nuclear terrorism however is the most serious possible terrorist threat. Samantha Pitts-Kiefer from the Nuclear Threat Initiative, outlines the history and current reality of a nuclear terrorist threat, highlighting the urgent need to better strengthen global nuclear security. This contribution summarises the key global initiatives focused on this task and how the NTI Nuclear Materials Security Index aims to provide better evidence to measure amongst countries of the world, the quantities, security and control measures, global norms, domestic commitments and capacity and risk environment for nuclear materials.
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“The bottom line is that the countries and areas with the greatest responsibility for protecting the world from a catastrophic act of nuclear terrorism are derelict in their duty,” the 2023 NTI Index reports.
The U.S. nuclear budget comprises a variety of programs associated with nuclear weapons, nuclear nonproliferation, nuclear security, and legacy environmental and health costs.
Nuclear and radiological security aims to ensure nuclear and other radioactive materials are secure from unauthorized access and theft, and that nuclear facilities are secure from sabotage.