The disposal of commercial spent nuclear fuel is an environmental and economic responsibility for the United States government. Successive administrations have failed to find a solution since the nuclear chain-reaction was envisioned for civilian energy generation in 1946. Through the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (NWPA), Congress assigned the management and disposal of spent nuclear fuel to the […]
Op-ed: Preventing an accidental nuclear crisis in Iran and beyond
Research Analyst Samuel Hickey wrote an op-ed in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists arguing that despite its politicization in Congress, the Iran nuclear deal represents the next-generation nuclear verification design to prevent any country from cheating its way to a nuclear weapon in a hurry. “There has been no sign as to when nuclear talks […]
NATO 2030: What the new Strategic Concept should say about nuclear weapons
By Shane Ward Eleven years after its last Strategic Concept, NATO faces its most critical self-assessment since the Cold War. “Our security environment is more complex and contested than ever before,” Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg reiterated earlier this year. “We are adapting to a more competitive world.” The new Strategic Concept, which establishes NATO’s “enduring […]
Op-ed: Congress’s role in the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine deal
Research Analyst Samuel Hickey wrote an op-ed in The Hill explaining how Congress can exercise oversight over the newly-formed AUKUS security pact and address proliferation concerns. President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison recently announced the creation of a new security pact (AUKUS), and the first order of business […]
Breaking down the jargon: nuclear programs, uranium and plutonium
By Samuel M. Hickey According to the Critical Issues poll done by the University of Maryland, a large majority of Americans across the political spectrum believe that Iran possesses nuclear weapons. It does NOT. Iran conducts nuclear research, contrary to its international commitments, into technologies with weapons applications, but it has not yet taken steps […]