Get to Know NTI: Ross Matzkin-Bridger on Pursuing Responsible and Secure Nuclear Energy

 Ross Matzkin-Bridger joined NTI’s Nuclear Materials Security Program in 2022. He spoke with Mary Fulham for the latest installment in Risky Business’ “Get to Know NTI” series.

Hi Ross! Let’s start with a softball. What’s your role here at NTI?

I work a lot on the confluence between nuclear energy, security, and nonproliferation—thinking about what the future of nuclear energy might look like and the implications for things like the spread of weapons-usable nuclear material, and then working to steer us towards a future where nuclear energy can meet the needs of people around the world without leading to more nuclear weapons.

What does that look like, practically? What can we do to make sure the spread of nuclear energy doesn’t lead to the spread of nuclear weapons?

Well, individual countries and communities are going to make choices about whether to pursue nuclear energy. For some, nuclear energy may be a great option. For others, it won’t be the best option, and that’s fine too. But what we do know is that a lot of communities want more nuclear energy now, and the most responsible thing they can do is to not go after reactors that use weapons-usable materials.

And it’s not as hard as you might think. For the most part, the nuclear power plants operating today use low-enriched uranium, which is great for producing electricity and it can’t be used for nuclear weapons—win-win. But some reactors out there use nuclear materials, like plutonium, that can be used for electricity or nuclear weapons, and that’s dangerous.

I remember in the “candy salad” video we made a few months ago you mentioned it only takes about a soda can’s worth of plutonium to make a nuclear weapon. A lot of people were shocked by that.

Well Mary, I think people were more shocked that I added York Peppermint Patties to the candy salad. To them I say, “Get the Sensation.”

But yeah, the hardest part about making a nuclear weapon is obtaining the material that you need for it. After that, the rest of the process is not nearly as hard.

There are two main weapons-usable materials: plutonium and highly enriched uranium. Both are essentially human-made materials—they don’t exist beyond trace amounts in nature. That’s a good thing, because we know that there are governments, non-state actors, criminals, and terrorists around the world today who would love to get their hands on some. At NTI, we want to prevent new stockpiles of weapons-usable materials, minimize existing stockpiles, and make sure, where they do still exist, that they don’t fall into the wrong hands. Actually, I have held some in my hand!

Woah—how did that happen?!

Earlier in my career, I was lucky enough to work at the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration where we would identify inventories of vulnerable nuclear material around the world, negotiate agreements to eliminate it with the government wherever it was, and then actually go in and eliminate it. We’d spend weeks, months, even years working out the complexities of the agreements. Until the material was on its way to being disposed of, there was always a chance the deal would fall apart—and sometimes it did. But it was extremely gratifying when it did work out because we could truly measure our success in kilograms, and that’s a pretty rare thing.

Anyway, that work took me to Crimea in southern Ukraine, and I was able to put on a glove and pick up some of the highly enriched uranium we were going to eliminate. It’s kind of crazy because it doesn’t look remarkable in any way, maybe like an iron rod. But knowing everything it can actually do…it made me appreciate the awesome power of this otherwise mundane material.

I’m sure! How did you originally get interested in nuclear security issues?

Well, when I was a high school exchange student in Japan, I had a chance to go to the atomic bomb memorial ceremony in Hiroshima. It was my first introduction to the impacts of nuclear weapons. I wasn’t sure then that I would make my career in the nuclear field, but I knew I wanted to make a difference in the world.

Then I had college and grad school professors who were former practitioners in nuclear security and nonproliferation and showed me it was an area where I could make that difference. So, I started building my expertise, and the time of my graduation happened to coincide with the Obama administration’s effort to secure all vulnerable nuclear material around the world. That’s the job that took me to Ukraine, and many other places around the world.

That’s incredible. I’d definitely say you’ve been able to make a difference in the world!

Yes! And at NTI, I’m not on the ground actually eliminating material anymore, but the level of influence that we can have here is sometimes above and beyond what I could do in government. Right now, I’m spending a lot of my time on the Nuclear Scaling Initiative (NSI), a partnership that NTI has with Clean Air Task Force and the EFI Foundation to shape the expansion of nuclear energy around the world.

As I mentioned, we know how to do nuclear energy right by avoiding the risks that come with weapons-usable material. And far from being a burden to new nuclear energy projects, following common-sense security norms can actually help catalyze new growth. This is why I’m so excited about NSI, because we’re working around the world to offer countries and communities an attractive and realistic path forward for nuclear energy—pragmatic, affordable, and with safety and security front and center.

Well, I’m sold! Thanks so much for sharing all this and for the important work you’re doing to improve global nuclear security and peppermint patty acceptance.