Nuclear Security: Looking Ahead

Howard L. HallORAU Annual Meeting, Oak Ridge, TN

March 6, 2014

UT established the Institute for Nuclear Security in 2012

INS fosters multi-organizational collaborations to conduct interdisciplinary work critical to national and global needs in nuclear security.

Nuclear security cannot be satisfactorily addressed by any one entity… How do we assure that R/N material and technology is

where it is supposed to be, being used for its intended purpose, and properly protected – anywhere in the world?

How do we detect things outside the bounds of appropriate use?

How do we effectively deal with bad events? How well can we understand the line between what we do

know and what we think we know? How do we effectively acculturate good nuclear security

values?

One of the hardest problems

Nuclear benefits abound…

Implementing lower carbon-emitting energy

Providing baseload electricity in the developing world

Beijing skyline Temelin NPSCzech Republic

… but each brings issues of concern.

Fukushima Daiichienvironmental impact

Suspected DPRK enrichment facility

US security forces

Significant progress has been made

NNSA packaging nuclear materialsNNSA Pu

recovery mission

2012 Nuclear Security Summit

Final “Megatons to Megawatts” shipment

But challenges yet remain

Strategic arms

Cybercrime and Information Security

Terrorism

Stolen source (Mexico)

Y-12 intrusion

Hard problems remain unresolved

Robert S. Norris and Hans M. Kristensen, "Global nuclear stockpiles, 1945-2006," Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 62, no. 4 (July/August 2006), 64-66.

IAEA: During 2012, 160

nuclear trafficking incidents.

Insider threats

Key issues looking forward

Continuing risk reduction activities

Nuclear arms control and reduction, strengthening regional security

Global standards, transparency, and accountability

Nuclear security culture

Stronger incident response capabilities

Reducing opportunity for diversion/theft in future plans

Human-in-the-loop system reliability

Broaden NS partnership with industry, NGOs, and academia

Strengthen norms and international laws/regulations on nuclear security

Sustainability