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Atomic Energy Commission of Syria (AECS)

  • Location
    Damascus
  • Type
    Nuclear-Research and Development
  • Facility Status
    Operational

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The AECS is an autonomous institution, affiliated with the Office of the Prime Minister, responsible for conducting research and training on atomic energy and its applications in various scientific and industrial fields. 1 2 Additionally, the AECS handles the extraction, processing, import, export, and control of radioactive materials. 3 In 1992, the AECS assumed responsibility for coordinating Syria’s Comprehensive Nuclear Safeguards Agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). 4

Established on 27 March 1976, by 1981 the AECS had become Syria’s primary nuclear regulatory agency. 5 6 In 1998, the AECS transferred its regulatory functions to a newly founded subsidiary, the Radiological and Nuclear Regulatory Office (RNR), which is responsible for preparing and enforcing regulations, carrying out nuclear and radiological inspections, and ensuring emergency preparedness and safety/risk assessment. 7 Since the RNR Office is subordinate to the AECS, the AECS remains the ultimate regulatory authority. The AECS is a co-founder and prominent member of the Arab Atomic Energy Agency (AAEA), working closely with the AAEA and the IAEA on radiation protection, safety, and security at the Syrian Regional Training Center. 8 In 2006, the AECS held five training courses on nuclear equipment and other topics, provided training to 19 scientific staff from other countries in the region, and hosted four scientific visits. 9

AECS personnel are currently conducting research on CO2 lasers, a technology with dual-use implications. CO2 lasers are proliferation relevant, because they can be used to enrich uranium through laser isotope separation. 10 Furthermore, Ellen Laipson, President and CEO of the Stimson Center, asserts that there is an “organic link” between the AECS and the Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC). 11 The SSRC is a civilian agency tied to the military establishment and the main center for new research and development on unconventional weapons and their delivery systems. 12

Glossary

Radioactivity
Radioactivity: The spontaneous emission of radiation, generally alpha or beta particles, often accompanied by gamma rays, from the nucleus of an unstable isotope.
Safeguards
Safeguards: A system of accounting, containment, surveillance, and inspections aimed at verifying that states are in compliance with their treaty obligations concerning the supply, manufacture, and use of civil nuclear materials. The term frequently refers to the safeguards systems maintained by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in all nuclear facilities in non-nuclear weapon state parties to the NPT. IAEA safeguards aim to detect the diversion of a significant quantity of nuclear material in a timely manner. However, the term can also refer to, for example, a bilateral agreement between a supplier state and an importer state on the use of a certain nuclear technology.

See entries for Full-scope safeguards, information-driven safeguards, Information Circular 66, and Information Circular 153.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
IAEA: Founded in 1957 and based in Vienna, Austria, the IAEA is an autonomous international organization in the United Nations system. The Agency’s mandate is the promotion of peaceful uses of nuclear energy, technical assistance in this area, and verification that nuclear materials and technology stay in peaceful use. Article III of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) requires non-nuclear weapon states party to the NPT to accept safeguards administered by the IAEA. The IAEA consists of three principal organs: the General Conference (of member states); the Board of Governors; and the Secretariat. For additional information, see the IAEA.
Proton
A particle with a positive electric charge located in the nucleus of an atom.
Dual-use item
An item that has both civilian and military applications. For example, many of the precursor chemicals used in the manufacture of chemical weapons have legitimate civilian industrial uses, such as the production of pesticides or ink for ballpoint pens.
Uranium
Uranium is a metal with the atomic number 92. See entries for enriched uranium, low enriched uranium, and highly enriched uranium.
Isotope
Isotope: Any two or more forms of an element having identical or very closely related chemical properties and the same atomic number (the same number of protons in their nuclei), but different atomic weights or mass numbers (a different number of neutrons in their nuclei). Uranium-238 and uranium-235 are isotopes of uranium.

Sources

  1. “Syria: Atomic Energy Commission Formed,” Middle East Economic Digest 20, No.14, 2 April 1976, p. 27.
  2. “Syria: Atomic Energy Commission Formed,” Middle East Economic Digest 20, No.14, 2 April 1976, p. 27; Ellen Laipson, “Syria: Can the Myth Be Maintained without Nukes,” in The Nuclear Tipping Point: Why States Reconsider their Nuclear Choices, eds. Kurt M. Campbell, Robert J. Einhorn, and Mitchell Reiss (Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2004), p. 92.
  3. “Syria: Atomic Energy Commission Formed,” Middle East Economic Digest 20, No.14, 2 April 1976, p. 27.
  4. “Syria: Atomic Energy Commission Formed,” Middle East Economic Digest 20, No.14, 2 April 1976, p. 27.
  5. R. Shweikani, H. Suman, and I. Othman (AECS), “Towards Optimal Use of Available Technical Resources for Regulatory Purposes: The Syrian Experience,” p. 1, www.iaea.org.
  6. Magnus Normark, Anders Lindblad, Anders Norqvist, Bjorn Sandstrom, and Louise Waldenstrom, “Syria and WMD: Incentives and Capabilities,” FOI Swedish Defence Research Agency, June 2004, p. 54, www2.foi.se.
  7. IAEA General Conference, Fifty-First (2007) Regular Session, “Plenary: Record of the Fifth Meeting,” held in Vienna, Austria, 19 September 2007, p. 13, www.iaea.org.
  8. I. Othman, and S. Alayoubi, “Syrian Preparatory Process for the First NPP Project,” Steps for Conducting Nuclear Power Plant Technology Assessments Workshop, Vienna, Austria, 17-20 March 2008, www.iaea.org.
  9. R. Shweikani, H. Suman, and I. Othman, “Towards Optimal Use of Available Technical Resources for Regulatory Purposes: The Syrian Experience,” AECS, p. 2, www.iaea.org.
  10. I. Othman, and S. Alayoubi, “Syrian Preparatory Process for the First NPP Project,” presentation for workshop on “Steps for Conducting Nuclear Power Plant Technology Assessments” hosted by IAEA, Vienna, Austria, 17-20 March 2008, p. 18, www.iaea.org.
  11. Ellen Laipson, “Syria: Can the Myth Be Maintained without Nukes,” in The Nuclear Tipping Point: Why States Reconsider their Nuclear Choices, eds. Kurt M. Campbell, Robert J. Einhorn, and Mitchell Reiss (Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2004), p. 92.
  12. Ellen Laipson, “Syria: Can the Myth Be Maintained without Nukes,” in The Nuclear Tipping Point: Why States Reconsider their Nuclear Choices, eds. Kurt M. Campbell, Robert J. Einhorn, and Mitchell Reiss (Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2004), p. 92.

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