March 2015 Nuclear Security Brief

By Nate Sans

Security for Nuclear Weapons and Materials

The Obama administration requested $1.7 billion for Department of Energy nuclear nonproliferation programs for fiscal year 2016, an increase of $90.7 million, or 5.6 percent. (3/2/2015)

Eric Schlosser, author of the critically acclaimed book Command and Control, provides a detailed description of the 2012 break-in at the Y-12 nuclear weapons production facility by three activists, including an 82-year-old nun. (3/9/15)

Douglas Birch and R. Jeffrey Smith published an account of the November 2007 break-in at the Pelindaba Nuclear Facility, and Washington’s diplomatic campaign to convince South Africa to downblend its nuclear material. (3/14/2015)

The National Nuclear Security Administration has asked contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security to double production of highly enriched uranium (HEU) metal, in order to facilitate the material’s transfer to another facility. (3/19/2015)

A Pakistani Strategic Plans Division official claimed that some employees in the Pakistani nuclear complex who were unable to pass Pakistan’s Personnel Reliability Programme were fired. (3/19/2015)

Former British Defense Secretary Desmond Browne and former Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov shared the Nunn-Lugar Award for Promoting Nuclear Security, which was awarded at the Carnegie International Nuclear Policy Conference. Ivanov and Browne also published an op-ed on nuclear security. (3/23/2015)

In a keynote address at the 2015 Carnegie International Nuclear Policy Conference, Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz announced the release of the Department of Energy’s report Prevent, Counter, and Respond – A Strategic Plan to Reduce Global Nuclear Threats (FY 2016-2020). (3/23/2015)

 Security for Nuclear Power Plants and Facilities

The French nuclear company Areva reportedly plans to cut its costs by $1.1 billion by 2017. (3/4/2015)

The Washington Post reported that some Pakistanis are protesting the location of two ACP-1000 reactors “less than 20 miles from downtown Karachi”. (3/5/2015)

A hacker who posted South Korean nuclear power plant information online threatened to give more information he had stolen to foreign countries if he was not given money. South Korean officials have blamed the cyberattack on North Korea. (3/13/2015)

Constraining Production of Weapons-Usable Material

The Nuclear Threat Initiative, with the Center for Strategic and International Studies Proliferation Prevention Program, published a report titled A New Approach to the Nuclear Fuel Cycle: Best Practices for Security, Nonproliferation, and Sustainable Nuclear Energy. (3/11/2015)

This March 13 Washington Post infographic provides an overview of global stocks of highly enriched uranium. (3/13/15)

A task force convened by The Federation of American Scientists published a report on the benefits and risks associated with naval nuclear reactor fuel. (March 2015)

Global Governance of Nuclear Security

Former U.S. Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Kenneth Brill and former Danish Ambassador to the IAEA John Bernhard published an op-ed in The Washington Post supporting an International Convention on Nuclear Security. (3/26/2015)