by Duyeon Kim and Andrew Carpenter BACKGROUND The 55th International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference (GC), comprised of representatives from the Agency’s 151 Member States, will be held on September 19-23, 2011 in Vienna. The General Conference, coupled with the Board of Governors meeting prior to the Conference, shape the direction of the Agency. Many […]
Fact Sheet: 66th UN General Assembly | Nuclear Safety-Security & Treaties
by Duyeon Kim and Andrew Carpenter BACKGROUND A High-level Meeting on Nuclear Safety and Security will be held at the 66th UN General Assembly on September 22nd, 2011 in New York. The conference was called for by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who announced his plans to host the meeting at the 25th anniversary of the 1986 […]
Two treaties. One Congress. No time to wait.
by Kingston Reif Published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Online on September 15, 2011 Article summary below; read the full text online By Kingston Reif and Miles Pomper While Washington, DC, is paralyzed by partisanship on most topics, there is one issue that commands overwhelming bipartisan agreement: the threat posed to US national […]
Fact Sheet: Budget Cuts Hurt Nuclear Security Efforts
The Threat According to the International Panel on Fissile Materials, the global stockpile of highly enriched uranium (HEU) in 2010 was roughly 1,475 tons, or enough to make more than 60,000 nuclear weapons. Likewise, the panel estimates the global stockpile of separated plutonium to be about 485 tons. The quality of security over these materials […]
Review of the Senate Appropriations Committee Version of the FY 2012 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill
by Kingston Reif Summary: Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and the rest of the members of the subcommittee deserve great credit for prioritizing essential nuclear and radiological material security and nonproliferation programs. While the House cut the budget for the Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI), the key program in the […]