There are two major international gatherings this week. While we're expecting Middle East issues to grab the spotlight, there are other critical nuclear issues that could and should be addressed. The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation has posted factsheets on the IAEA General Conference in Vienna and the UN General Assembly in New York.

Read more

Nukes on a Blog, UN General Assembly, IAEA General Conference, nuclear security, nuclear safety, treaties (all tags)

2011.3 Fukishima Daiichi power plant, 2nd explosion (Photo:AFP)

The UN High-level Meeting on Nuclear Safety and Security chaired by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will be held on September 22nd on the sidelines of the 66th UN General Assembly in New York. On May 20, 2011, Secretary-General Ban launched a UN-wide study on the implications of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster that will be presented at the upcoming Meeting and released to the public.

The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation has obtained a copy of the report. Below are excerpts of the relevant sections on nuclear safety-security:

Read more

UN study, Fukushima, nuclear safety, nuclear security, Ban Ki-moon (all tags)

I co-authored an op-ed with Igor Khripunov for The Bulletin today.

You can read the full piece on The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists website.

Key points are:

As the IAEA has suggested, the lessons of Fukushima that need particular study are "those pertaining to multiple severe hazards" that might afflict a nuclear power plant. Such complex hazards can emerge from natural disaster, sabotage by terrorists or other malcontents, or be a combination of natural events and intentional acts. Nuclear safety and security staffs -- whose cultures are quite different -- should be trained to interact with one another as they respond to all three types of severe hazards.

You can also view it on the Center's website here.

We cut a section due to word count, but we raised a point that pushed the envelop a bit. Click "Read more" if you're curious:

Read more

Nukes on a Blog, nuclear safety, nuclear security, sabotage, terrorist, multiple hazards, natech, maltech, nuclear security culture, nuclear governance (all tags)

I co-authored an op-ed with Dr. Igor Khripunov in the Korea Times titled "Time to Think Nuclear Safety-Security" in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster and in the run-up to the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul.

Click here or here or click Read More.

Read more

Nukes on a Blog, nuclear safety, nuclear security, Fukushima, 2012 Nuclear Security Summit (all tags)

Fukushima Daiichi power plant

I wrote an op-ed for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists on March 18th on the implications of the Fukushima nuclear disaster for the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit. It can be found here.

There are two op-eds worth reading written by the Center's Board members:

Frank von Hippel at Princeton University wrote in the New York Times on March 23rd on the need to learn from the Fukushima disaster and reduce dangers around the world. He writes, "We therefore must make existing reactors safer, develop a new generation of safer designs and prevent nuclear power from facilitating nuclear proliferation. As tragic as the Fukushima disaster has been, it has provided a rare opportunity to advance those goals."

Matthew Bunn at Harvard University wrote in the Washington Post on March 23rd on ways to reduce a Fukushima-like disaster elsewhere. He writes, "Ultimately, regular independent, international reviews should be the norm in nuclear operations worldwide. All countries must demonstrate that they are doing everything practicable to prevent the next Fukushima — or something far worse."

Read more

2012 Nuclear Security Summit, Japan, Fukushima, Daiichi, nuclear safety, radioactive materials (all tags)