nuclear security: a fortnightly newsletter from...

Vol 10, No. 12, 15 APRIL 2016 PAGE - 1

NUCLEAR SECURITY: A FORTNIGHTLY NEWSLETTER FROM CAPS

CONTENTS REPORT STATEMENT OPINION NUCLEAR STRATEGY NUCLEAR ENERGY NUCLEAR COOPERATION NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION NUCLEAR SAFETY NUCLEAR SECURITY NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT NUCLEAR TERRORISM URANIUM PRODUCTION NUCLEAR WASTE MANAGEMENT

Vol 10, No. 12, 15 April. 2016

REPORT – Government of India

India’s National Progress Report, NuclearSecurity Summit 2016

India looks at nuclear technology and nuclearmaterials primarily as a resource for meeting apart of its requirements for electricity. It considersnuclear power as safe, reliable, affordable andenvironmentally friendly and is engaged indeveloping nuclear technologies for deployment.Continuous evolution of the framework forgovernance of nuclear power including that fornuclear security has been given equal importance.Nuclear industry and research centres in India haveinternalized securitypractices in their day-to-dayworking and have created astrong security culture in theirrespective organizations. Intune with the securityrequirements as perceivedby India, the nuclear securityarchitecture in the countryhas been strengthened andIndia has also participated instrengthening securityarchitecture at the globallevel. Considering that it is the last nuclear summitin the current format, a consolidated report onnuclear security is presented here.

International Legal Instruments: India is party toall the 13 universal instruments accepted asbenchmarks for a State’s commitments to combatinternational terrorism. India is party to the


Convention on the CPPNMand has ratified its 2005amendment. India looksforward to its early entryinto force. India is alsoparty to the InternationalConvention for theSuppression of Acts ofNuclear Terrorism. Indiasupports efforts forpromoting the universalityof these two conventions.

National Legal and Implementation Framework:The Indian Atomic Energy Act, 1962 provides thelegal framework for all aspects related todevelopment of nuclear and radiationtechnologies including their security. Rules andguidelines issued under this Act include thoserelated to export controls, which arecontinuously updated, and include controls on

Nuclear industry and research centres inIndia have internalized security practicesin their day-to-day working and havecreated a strong security culture in theirrespective organizations. In tune with thesecurity requirements as perceived byIndia, the nuclear security architecturein the country has been strengthenedand India has also participated instrengthening security architecture atthe global level.

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export of related technologies. Guidelines havealso been issued to ensure that companiesmanufacturing nuclearequipment based on anyimported technology handlethe technology with duesensitivity. India’s exportcontrols list and guidelineshave been harmonized withthose of NSG and India looksforward to strengthening itscontribution to shared non-proliferation objectivesthrough membership of theexport controls regimes. In2005, India enacted the Weapons of MassDestruction and their Delivery Systems Act, 2005.This gives effect, inter alia, to India’s obligationsunder the UNSC Resolution 1540.

Institutionally, the security of nuclear andradiological material in India is ensured throughrobust oversight by India’s AERB, which deploys alarge pool of highly trained and specialisedmanpower for this purpose. IAEA’s peer reviewmechanisms like the Integrated Regulatory ReviewService (IRRS) have acknowledged the strength ofAERB’s regulatory practices and capabilities. Atthe same time, steps are being taken to convertthe de facto independence of AERB into de jureautonomy through a Nuclear Safety RegulatoryAuthority (NSRA), for whicha bill is being finalised forintroduction in the IndianParliament. The draft billhas appropriate provisionsrelated to nationalimplementation of nuclearsecurity. The UnlawfulActivities (Prevention) Act,1967 was amended in 2012to include offences withinthe scope of, and as definedin several treaties includingCPPNM. The National Investigation Agency (NIA)Act, 2008 establishes a central agency, the NIA,which acts as the central counter terrorism lawenforcement agency. The schedule of this Act hasreference to the Atomic Energy Act, the Unlawful

Activities (Prevention) Act and the Weapons of MassDestruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition

of Unlawful Activities) Act.The Nuclear Controls andPlanning Wing set up in theDAE in 2013 has takenrobust strides towardsimplementation of India’scommitment related tonuclear safeguards, exportcontrols and nuclear safetyand security. Other agencieshoused in the DAE andhaving a role in nuclearsecurity include a Crisis

Management Group (CMG) and a ComputerInformation & Security Advisory Group (CISAG). Atthe national level, the NDMA, an agency withmanpower trained to respond to emergenciesincluding radiological emergencies, has been setup through an Act of Parliament.

Setting up of an Inter-ministerial Counter NuclearSmuggling Team: To devise a coordinated multi-agency approach to deal with the threat ofindividuals or group of individuals acquiring nuclearor radioactive material for malicious purposes,India has set up at the national level an institutionalmechanism called a Counter Nuclear SmugglingTeam. The team has representation from concernedMinistries/ Departments/ Agencies and meets

frequently. It also conductstable top exercises foreffective and coordinatedresponse to threatsinvolving use of nuclear andradioactive material formalicious purposes.

Nuclear Material: The useof LEU instead of HEU topreclude the threat fromthe misuse of HEU is oneof the aims of the global

nuclear security community. The only reactor inIndia using HEU has been shut down and theplanned replacement reactor will not use HEU.India is setting up a facility for the production ofmedical grade Mo-99 by the uranium fission route

IAEA’s peer review mechanisms like theIntegrated Regulatory Review Service(IRRS) have acknowledged thestrength of AERB’s regulatory practicesand capabilities. At the same time,steps are being taken to convert thede facto independence of AERB intode jure autonomy through a NuclearSafety Regulatory Authority (NSRA),for which a bill is being finalised forintroduction in the Indian Parliament.

The Nuclear Controls and Planning Wingset up in the DAE in 2013 has takenrobust strides towards implementationof India’s commitment related tonuclear safeguards, export controls andnuclear safety and security. Otheragencies housed in the DAE and havinga role in nuclear security include a CrisisManagement Group (CMG) and aComputer Information & SecurityAdvisory Group (CISAG).

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using LEU targets. This will be used for themanufacture of Mo-99/Tc-99m generator for usein hospitals. The LEU targets will be made in Indiaand irradiated in an indigenous research reactor.Pursuit of a closed fuel cycle and the manner inwhich India goes about it further ensures securityof nuclear materials. India is strictly observing theprinciple of “reprocess to reuse” wherebyreprocessing of the spent fuel and commissioningof fast reactors are being synchronized to precludeany build-up of a plutonium stockpile. Cs-137, auseful isotope, is being recovered from the highlevel waste arising from reprocessing spent fuelfrom thermal reactors. This is helping to meet thedemand of radioisotopes for various applications.India has submitted proposals in the NSS processon the technology dimension of nuclear security.

Security of Radiation Sources and Facilities: India’sregulatory agency, the AERB, has instituted veryrobust regulatory mechanisms to ensure safety andsecurity of radiationsources from ‘cradle tograve’. AERB has publishedtwo Guides on: (i) Securityof Radioactive Sources andradiation Facilities (AER/RF-RS/RG1) and (ii) Securityof Radioactive Materialduring transport (AERB/NRF-TS/SG-10). In addition,AERB has developed adatabase of radiationsources utilized in thecountry and recently instituted a very successfule-LORA (e-licensing of Radiation Applications)platform for complete automation and facilitateend-to-end licensing of facilities using radiationsources. Security of high activity sources duringtheir transport are ensured by implementingelaborate security plan including continuous andreal time tracking. AERB is also regularlyconducting awareness programmes for variousstakeholders/ law enforcement agencies forsecurity of radiation sources throughout thecountry.

SNM Detection Architecture: A network of 23Emergency Response Centres, spread across Indiahas been developed for detecting and respondingto any nuclear or radiological emergency,anywhere in the country. All major sea ports and

airports of the country are being equipped withradiation portals & detection equipment to monitorall vehicular, passenger and cargo traffic.

Cyber Security: Addressing the growing challengesof threats to computer, network and informationsystems is a national priority. Utilizing theextensive expertise available in the country, ahierarchy of on-site Cyber security architecture hasbeen deployed and also a number of sophisticatedproducts and services like secure network accesssystem (SNAS) have been developed and deployedfor protection of the cyber infrastructure in thecountry.

Strengthening International Cooperation: Indiahad announced setting up of a GCNEP during theNSS 2010 held in Washington D.C. The uniquenessof GCNEP rests on its holistic vision of nuclearenergy through its five schools on (i) advanced nuclearenergy systems, (ii) nuclear security, (iii) radiological

safety, (iv) nuclear materialcharacterization, and (v)applications of radioisotopesand radiation technologies,each specializing in an areathat promotes anoverarching vision of safe,secure and sustainablenuclear energy for globalgood. GCNEP has inkedMOUs with IAEA, USA,France, Russia and UK Formore than five years now,

GCNEP has been steadily strengthening itsportfolio of programmes and has conducted morethan 30 international and regional programmesinvolving more than 300 participants from around30 countries.

Important and emerging nuclear security topics likeinsider threat, vulnerability assessment,transportation security, cyber security, detection,prevention and response to radiological threatsetc. have been covered in these programmes.International cooperation also includescooperation at the level of NGOs and a recentexample includes a conference on India’s Role inGlobal Nuclear Governance organized during 24-26 February 2016 jointly by IDSA and PeaceResearch Institute, Oslo (PRIO). Earlier, a workshopon technical aspects of civilian nuclear security

A network of 23 Emergency ResponseCentres, spread across India has beendeveloped for detecting and respondingto any nuclear or radiologicalemergency, anywhere in the country. Allmajor sea ports and airports of thecountry are being equipped withradiation portals & detection equipmentto monitor all vehicular, passenger andcargo traffic.

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was held jointly with the US National Academy ofSciences by the National Institute of AdvancedStudies, Bengaluru onOctober 29-31, 2012.

IAEA: India has consistentlysupported the IAEA’s centralrole in facilitating nationalefforts and fosteringeffective internationalcooperation to furtherstrengthen nuclear security.Indian experts have been participating in variousbodies established by the IAEA to draft andreview documents related to nuclear security.India has supported the fifth revision of thedocument on nuclearsecurity recommendations,INFCIRC/225, and included a reference to it in itsnuclear cooperation agreements where applicable.India is a participant in the IAEA’s ITDB and hasvoluntarily adopted the provisions of the IAEACode of Conduct on the Safety and Security ofRadioactive Sources. IAEA has carried out reviewof Indian PHWRs under the “Operational SafetyReview Teams” (OSART) mission. AdditionallyIAEA has conducted the “Integrated RegulatoryReview Service” (IRRS) review of India’s regulatoryagency, the AERB.

India will propose a workshop on IAEA’sInternational Physical Protection Advisory Service(IPPAS) with the Agency experts during the year2016. India participated at the Ministerial levelin the International Conference on NuclearSecurity organized by the IAEA in 2013 and plansto participate at theappropriate level in 2016 aswell. India also participatedin the December 2012Fukushima MinisterialConference on NuclearSafety. India contributed $1 million to IAEA’s NuclearSecurity Fund in 2013 andproposes to contribute asimilar amount in 2016 aswell. In addition, India madea voluntary contribution of US$ 100,000 in 2015for the modernization of IAEA’s nuclearapplications laboratories in Seibersdorf, Austriaunder the ReNuAL project.

United Nations and other Mechanisms: India fully

supports the implementation of UNSC CouncilResolution 1540, its extension resolution 1977,

and the United NationsGlobal Counter TerrorismStrategy. India hosted,along with the UN Officefor Disarmament Affairs, a1540 Workshop on BuildingNew Synergies on Nuclearsecurity in New Delhi in2012. India is a Party to theGICNT and participates in

all three working groups of the GICNT in the areasof Nuclear Detection, Nuclear Forensics, andResponse and Mitigation. India has proposed tohost a meeting of the working groups of the GICNTin India during 2017. India will join the JointStatement on Strengthening Nuclear SecurityImplementation circulated at the IAEA as INFCIRC/869.

Source: http://www.mea.gov.in, 02 April 2016.

STATEMENT – IAEA Director General

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, The IAEA hasbeen active in nuclear security for decades. Afterthe 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, wesignificantly stepped up our activities.

The first Nuclear Security Summit six years agohad a major impact on our work. In 2010, somecountries still questioned whether the IAEA had amandate to work on nuclear security. Now, no-one disputes this. Today, nuclear safety andsecurity are priority areas in the IAEA budget. Our

regular budget for nuclearsecurity has increased five-fold, but it is still notsufficient.

The 2010 Summit set out afar-sighted programme toimprove nuclear security.The IAEA has played theleading role as the globalplatform for strengtheningnuclear security, and we

have delivered concrete results.

Since 2010, the IAEA has trained over 10,000people in nuclear security, including police andborder guards. We have given countries more than3,000 instruments for detecting nuclear and other

IAEA has carried out review of IndianPHWRs under the “Operational SafetyReview Teams” (OSART) mission.Additionally IAEA has conducted the“Integrated Regulatory Review Service”(IRRS) review of India’s regulatoryagency, the AERB.

Since 2010, the IAEA has trained over10,000 people in nuclear security,including police and border guards. Wehave given countries more than 3,000instruments for detecting nuclear andother radioactive material, and carriedout around 60 advisory missions to helpStates improve their nuclear securityframeworks.

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radioactive material, and carried out around 60advisory missions to help States improve theirnuclear security frameworks.

We maintain a unique global Incident andTrafficking Database, through which 133 countriesreport incidents of illicit trafficking and otherunauthorized activities involving nuclear and otherradioactive material. Nearly 3,000 such incidentshave been reported since the database wasestablished in 1995.

States should make betteruse of this database andreport all relevant incidentsin order to improveeveryone’s understandingof the scale of the problem.Countries all over the worldhave invested in nuclearsecurity, often with supportfrom the IAEA and financialassistance from some ofthe countries. We workclosely with the more than 100 other IAEAMember States which are not represented at thisSummit meeting.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Protection againstpossible nuclear terrorist attacks will be enhancedas an important legal instrument — theAmendment to the Convention on the PhysicalProtection of Nuclear Material — enters into force.It will reduce the likelihood of terrorists being ableto detonate a “dirty bomb”, and the risk of aterrorist attack on a nuclear power plant.

Entry into force of the Amendment has been apainfully slow process. Under the Amendment,countries are required to establish appropriatephysical protection regimes for nuclear material.They also take on new obligations to shareinformation on sabotage, and credible threats ofsabotage.

As the Amendment enters into force, I will bringthe Parties together to work out ways of improvingthe mechanisms for sharing such information,while protecting confidentiality. I plan to hostannual meetings of national Points of Contact for

the Convention, as well as periodic ReviewConferences. However, even with entry into force,there will still be a large number of countrieswhich are not parties to the Amendment. So ournew goal must be universal application of theamended Convention.

Ladies and Gentlemen, The IAEA has uniqueemergency response capabilities in the form ofour Incident and Emergency Centre. It would

become operational withinminutes after a Statereported a nuclear security-related incident to us. Wecould send nuclear securityexperts and radiationmeasurement teams to theaffected country, helporganise medical assistanceand organise nuclearforensics investigations.

Ladies and Gentlemen,With 168 Member States, the IAEA has the global

reach and the technical expertise to serve as aneffective global nuclear security platform. We willhold an International Conference on NuclearSecurity, with a ministerial component, inDecember. Please encourage ministers from yourcountry to attend.

In order to maintain the momentum, I expect thatthis high-level conference will take place everythree years in future.

The IAEA’s responsibilities in nuclear security willgrow in the coming years. We need sustainedpolitical and financial support from you. Workingclosely with national experts and key internationalpartners, the IAEA will continue to deliver tangibleimprovements in nuclear security. Thank you.

Source: https://www.iaea.org, 01 April 2016.

OPINION – Hubert Foy

Radiological Terrorism: The Unaddressed Threat

Fissile material gets all the attention. Well, mostof it anyway—whether at the Nuclear SecuritySummits or here in this roundtable. And that’s

The IAEA has unique emergencyresponse capabilities in the form of ourIncident and Emergency Centre. Itwould become operational withinminutes after a State reported anuclear security-related incident to us.We could send nuclear security expertsand radiation measurement teams tothe affected country, help organisemedical assistance and organise nuclearforensics investigations.

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understandable. Substances that terrorists mightfashion into nuclear bombs do deserve the lion’sshare of attention whenever nuclear security isdiscussed. But radioactive sources—materialsproduced because they emitradiation useful in agriculture,industry, construction,medicine, mining, research,and transportation—are quitedangerous in their own right.They number in the millions.Tens of thousands of thesesealed radioactive sources—small capsules of highlyconcentrated radioactivematerial in solid form—merit real concern. They can be vulnerable to theftand to black-market sale. Worse, they could beused by jihadists to make a radioactive dispersaldevice, otherwise known as a dirty bomb.

So far, the threats posed by radioactive sourceshave gone largely unaddressed. To be sure,radioactive sources were introduced to the agendaof the Nuclear Security Summits in 2012, whenthe Seoul communiqué emphasized theimportance of insuring that radiological sourcesaren’t put to malicious use.But four years and twosummits later, radioactivesources continue to pose avery real threat. As mycolleague Nilsu Gorenmentioned in Round One,up to 10 grams of iridium-192 were stolen just lastyear from a storage facilityin Iraq. The material waslater recovered, but theincident was alarming.Accordingly, a letter signedby 35 Nobel laureates ahead of the recent summiturged world leaders “to devote the necessaryresources to make further substantial progress…inpreventing nuclear and radiological terrorism.”

Tracking and accounting for radiological sourcesis not easy. As noted, sources are broadlydispersed and are used in a wide variety of

applications. They are often trafficked acrossborders by smugglers or insiders seeking profitthrough illegal trade. This means that manyradioactive sources lie outside regulatory control

and are very vulnerable tomisuse. Between 2013 and2014, some 133 memberstates reported to the IAEAat least 276 incidents ofillicit trafficking or otherunauthorized activityinvolving radioactivesources. With governmentsand the private sectorunable to trace radioactivematerial from manufacturer

to user and ultimately to safe disposal, chancesare unacceptably high that terrorists will somedaydetonate a dirty bomb.

But opportunities exist for strengthening theprotection afforded to radioactive sources—forexample, by achieving universal adherence to andimplementation of the IAEA’s Code of Conduct onthe Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources.The code seeks the “development andharmonization of policies, laws, and regulations

on the safety and securityof radioactive sources.”

Unfortunately, as ofFebruary, only 130 of 168IAEA member states hadcommitted to the codepolitically, and only 103 hadnotified the agency thatthey intended to act inaccordance with the relatedGuidance on the Import andExport of RadioactiveSources. Nor have many

states established robust, comprehensive legaland regulatory frameworks for radiologicalsecurity. In Ghana, where I work, President JohnMahama last year signed the Nuclear RegulatoryAct of 2015, making Ghana just the third countryin sub-Saharan Africa with an independent nuclearregulatory authority. Weak legal structures inmany countries—along with the lack of universal

Substances that terrorists might fashioninto nuclear bombs do deserve the lion’sshare of attention whenever nuclearsecurity is discussed. But radioactivesources—materials produced becausethey emit radiation useful in agriculture,industry, construction, medicine, mining,research, and transportation—are quitedangerous in their own right. Theynumber in the millions.

Sources are broadly dispersed and areused in a wide variety of applications.They are often trafficked across bordersby smugglers or insiders seeking profitthrough illegal trade. This means thatmany radioactive sources lie outsideregulatory control and are veryvulnerable to misuse. Between 2013 and2014, some 133 member states reportedto the IAEA at least 276 incidents ofillicit trafficking.

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adherence to the Code of Conduct—mean that avast number of radiological sources exist outsidenational and international security mechanisms.

Another opportunity for improved radiologicalsecurity is to establish regular training andeducational opportunities for personnel involvedin the management and disposal of radioactivesources. Effective security procedures depend onthe behavior of individuals who actually work withradiological devices. New educational andtraining programs should be developed,specifically tailored for radiological sourcesecurity, through the IAEA, the InternationalNuclear Security Education Network, or otherentities. All such efforts should be aimed atcultivating a strong security culture.

Finally, the private sector could provide a strongerfirst line of defense against radioactive materialfalling into terrorist hands.Radiological best practicesshould be regarded as anissue of corporateresponsibility and instilledacross entire industries.Organizations such as theIAEA and the World Institutefor Nuclear Security couldfacilitate internationalexchanges allowing firms toshare best practices. Theseorganizations could alsofacilitate upgrades to the equipment that firmsuse for physical protection, accounting, anddetection of nuclear smuggling. Initiatives suchas these are not glamorous. But they may be thedifference between a normal day in some globalcapital—and the day when a dirty bomb abruptlyforces the world to view radiological security in anew, unpleasant light.

Source: http://thebulletin.org, 12 April 2016.

OPNINON – WPS Sidhu

Lessons from the Nuclear Security Summits

The NSS process—to prevent non-state actors,particularly terrorists, from acquiring nuclear

material—was launched with fanfare in 2010 byUS President Barack Obama with the ambitiousobjective “to secure all vulnerable nuclearmaterial in four years”. Six years and four summitslater—the last of which concluded on 1 April—this aim has not been reached, despite substantialprogress being made.

Since the NSS process began, more than 175tonnes of HEU—enough for nearly 7,000 nuclearweapons—has been removed or down-blended(mostly from Russia); 30 countries haveeliminated all HEU from their territory; andradiation detection equipment has been installedat 329 international border crossings, airports andseaports to prevent, detect and respond totrafficking in nuclear and other radioactivematerial.

Additionally, the Convention on the CPPNM, withthe 2005 amendment, isnow only eight signaturesshy of entering into forceand the ICSANT has beensigned by 103 of the 193United Nations members.However, an estimated1,400 tonnes of HEU andnearly 500 tonnes ofplutonium—enough forabout 200,000 simplefission-type nuclearbombs—is still held by

more than 30 countries. Moreover, the absenceof Russian President Vladimir Putin (over strategicdifferences with the US) indicates that progresstowards this cause is susceptible to the overallstate of bilateral relations. Similarly, the failureto invite Iran (despite the nuclear deal) was amissed opportunity to engage Tehran on a crucialissue of global importance. Finally, as reportsemanating from Brussels before the summitindicate, despite the NSS’ efforts, the possibilityof terrorist attacks on nuclear facilities has notbeen eliminated even in nations such as Belgium.

These achievements and challenges underlineseveral key lessons from the NSS process. First,because the NSS is narrowly focused on the threat

Since the NSS process began, more than175 tonnes of HEU—enough for nearly7,000 nuclear weapons—has beenremoved or down-blended (mostly fromRussia); 30 countries have eliminated allHEU from their territory; and radiationdetection equipment has been installedat 329 international border crossings,airports and seaports to prevent, detectand respond to trafficking in nuclear andother radioactive material.

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of non-state actors acquiring nuclear material, ittook great initiative on the part of the US to get itgoing; it is unlikely that any other world leadercould have led a similar project. This indicates,as Obama boasted, that even in the multi-polarera, the world is dependent on US leadership.However, as the absence of Putin and the inabilityof the process in securing all nuclear material infour years reflect, there are limits to even whatthe US leadership can achieve. Besides, the factthat the 2012 and 2014 summits were held inSouth Korea and the Netherlands respectively—both US allies from the developed world—indicates that Washington is still not able to findwilling partners for its initiatives in the globalSouth.

Second, some experts argue that the NSS processonly deals with nuclearmaterial in civilianfacilities and not themilitary nuclear facilities,which account for about83% of all nuclear material.This is disputed by otherswho assert that the NSScommuniqués along withthe CPPNM, the ICSANTand UN Security Councilresolution 1540 deal withall nuclear material—civilian and military. Whatis not in dispute, however, is that the dangerposed by forward-deployed tactical nuclearweapons, particularly by Pakistan, Russia and theUS, has not been addressed and needs to beremedied.

Finally, the relative success of the NSS processalso underlines the failure of the internationalcommunity to address similar dangers emanatingfrom biological weapons. As there is nointernational regime or institution to deal withbiological weapons, they remain largelyunregulated. Indeed, non-state actors andindividuals are increasingly conducting researchin biotechnology, especially, synthetic biology. ForIndia, while its contribution to the success of theNSS process is useful to highlight its credentialsas a responsible nuclear state, any initiative on

similar threats from biological weapons and itsability to rally others to the cause would enhanceits credibility as a global leader.

Source: http://www.livemint.com, 11 April 2016.

OPINION – Seema Sirohi

Indian Diplomacy in Full Flow at Nuclear SecuritySummit, Eyes Firmly Set on NSG Next

It was a short visit but Prime Minister Narendra Modimaximised the time and presence of 50 worldleaders at the Nuclear Security Summit to India’sadvantage with sharp and targeted diplomacy. Modihighlighted India’s progress in developing a “strongsecurity culture” to establish even more “streetcreds” as a responsible nuclear power. At the sametime, he used the opportunity to garner support for

India’s entry into the NSG –the next step in the world’sacceptance of India in theglobal nuclear scheme. Keyannouncements at thesummit included Indiajoining three “gift baskets”or joint endeavours inpriority areas – counteringnuclear smuggling, thecontact group in Vienna tocarry on the work of the

summit, and sharing best practices through centresof excellence.

In addition, New Delhi will host an internationalconference with Interpol, a key player in preventingthe smuggling of nuclear, biological, radiologicaland chemical materials. Modi released India’snational progress report, which underlines thevarious steps the country has taken on nuclearsecurity – updating export controls for companiesmanufacturing nuclear technology, taking “robuststrides” towards implementing nuclear safeguards,setting up an inter-ministerial counter-smugglingteam, using low-enriched uranium instead of HEUand shutting down the only reactor using HEU,setting up 23 response centres across the countryto take care of any nuclear or radiologicalemergency and putting a cyber security architecturein place. Apart from doing things at home, India is

What is not in dispute, however, is thatthe danger posed by forward-deployedtactical nuclear weapons, particularlyby Pakistan, Russia and the US, has notbeen addressed and needs to beremedied Finally, the relative success ofthe NSS process also underlines thefailure of the international communityto address similar dangers emanatingfrom biological weapons.

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also active on the international front. It announceda $1 million grant for the IAEA, the leadorganisation invested in strengthening nuclearsecurity, in addition to the $1 million it contributedin 2013.

Rallying Support: The slew of Indian offers shouldmitigate complaints aboutNew Delhi not pulling itsweight or hiding in a cloudof opacity. Indian officialsare hopeful the internationalcommunity led by the US willrespond positively. It isclear that Modi is vigorouslytaking forward the 2008Indo-US nuclear deal,hammered together by his predecessor ManmohanSingh and the Bush administration, to endthe ”nuclear apartheid” India faced and engineerthe acceptance of the country as a nuclearweapons power on the world stage. If one were toguess what Modi said to US President BarackObama during the working dinner on 31st March,when he was seated on one side and ChinesePresident Xi Jinping on the other, it would havebeen to urge Obama to show him the money – asthey say in America – and to get his bureaucracymoving to put more meat and meaning in theAmerican pivot. US sources confirmed they areworking to move things along for India’smembership in the NSG at the June plenary after aperiod of what New Delhi saw as neglect.

The selection of worldleaders with whom Modisought meetings over twodays was also aimed atrallying support within theNSG. He met the leaders ofCanada, Kazakhstan,Britain, New Zealand,Switzerland, and Japan –not by random selection but by intelligent design.They all are members of the NSG, the group thatcontrols the export of nuclear technology andwhich, ironically, was set up in response to India’sfirst nuclear test in 1974. Yes, there were glowingtributes by Modi to bilateral relations with each

country’s leader but the real aim was to win morefriends and convince the sceptics and massagethose already supportive. The idea – the morepositive the feelings towards India’s NSG entry, themore isolated will be the opponents and thegreater the chance of success. Nordic countries,traditionally critical of India’s nuclear weapons’

programme, have softenedtheir stance. In reality, theonly real opposing party isChina, which just happensto be Pakistan’s all-weather friend and also aviolator of NSG rules.Those violations havegone unpunished by therest of the member

countries. It is believed that if China is left as thelast man standing against India’s entry, it maydecide to back off, especially if Washington putsits might behind the effort in pushing New Delhi’scase, as it did in back in 2008. This is the stuff ofwhich nuclear diplomacy is made – it helps thatModi has hardy “sherpas” in the external affairsministry who understand both the substance andpolitics of the nuclear issue.

Even though Modi had met British Prime MinisterDavid Cameron just three months ago, he madesure to seek him out again in Washington toensure the British continued their support andused their influence with other European leadersin the NSG in India’s favour. Modi recalled his

November visit toLondon that “changedbilateral relations forever”,created “history” atWembley, and made tiesever “richer”, in the wordsof V ikas Swarup, thespokesman for the externalaffairs ministry.

Similarly with Canada’s Prime Minister JustinTrudeau, Modi ensured the young leader heardIndia’s story from the horse’s mouth. It was thefirst time the two met – it was Stephen Harperwho was Prime Minister when Modi visitedCanada last year and secured a $350 million deal

It is clear that Modi is vigorously takingforward the 2008 Indo-US nuclear deal,hammered together by his predecessorManmohan Singh and the Bushadministration, to end the ”nuclearapartheid” India faced and engineer theacceptance of the country as a nuclearweapons power on the world stage.

Nordic countries, traditionally critical ofIndia’s nuclear weapons’ programme,have softened their stance. In reality, theonly real opposing party is China, whichjust happens to be Pakistan’s all-weatherfriend and also a violator of NSG rules.Those violations have gone unpunishedby the rest of the member countries.

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for Canadian uranium, ending the long moratoriumon doing nuclear business with India. WinningTrudeau’s confidence was important. And so itwent with Prime Minister John Key of NewZealand, considered a mildsceptic about India’s entryinto the NSG. Theydiscussed cricket to breakthe ice but then it wasbusiness as usual, sourcessaid.

Addressing AmericanConcerns: Constructive asthese engagements were,the fact remains that thebulk of the burden has to be carried by Americansherpas at the NSG. If they succeed, it would be agame changer for bilateral relations. Obama andModi have mentioned the NSG in their jointstatements and India has taken many steps tofulfil its part of the bargain. After losing the ballduring UPA II, New Delhi has moved hard to injectmomentum into the Indo-US civil nuclear deal toaddress American complaints about liabilityissues. The insurance pool is up and running andmoney has been raised from the private sector,which should be music to American ears.

India has upped the offer to Westinghouse fromtwo to six units to make everything moreeconomical, from construction costs to the costof power. This grows the pie from $8 billion to$24 billion for the USnuclear vendor. Thecompany is now engagedin talent spotting fortrained personnel to beginconstruction of the nuclearplants. The new attitude isalso reflected in Indiabeing “more open” andless defensive about itsnuclear programme. It isparticipating in more expertgroup meetings,submitting joint papers with the US, and seekingtechnical help. India is making sure that it is partof the dialogue moving forward after this fourth

and last Nuclear Security Summit. There is littlepoint in listing how Pakistan hasn’t played by therules – exhibit A being its fervent pursuit oftactical nuclear weapons and exhibit B the

presence of radicalelements within its armedforces, both of which havegiven American officialsmajor headaches.

In the end, officials hopethat India’s efforts inhelping to achieve thesummit’s primary goal –preventing increasinglytech savvy terrorists from

ever getting close to anything nuclear – made animpact at the nuclear gathering. The questionfacing the international community: Does it makesense to keep India out of the global export controlregimes?

Source: http://thewire.in, 02 April 2016.

OPINION – Allison Macfarlane

How to Protect Nuclear Plants from Terrorists

In the wake of terrorist attacks in Brussels, Paris,Istanbul, Ankara and elsewhere, nations arerethinking many aspects of domestic security.Nuclear plants, as experts have long known, arepotential targets for terrorists, either for sabotageor efforts to steal nuclear materials.

Currently there are 444nuclear power plantsoperating in 30 countriesaround the world and 243smaller research reactors,which are used to produceisotopes for medical usesand to train nuclearengineers. The nuclearindustry also includeshundreds of plants thatenrich uranium and

fabricate fuel for reactors. Some of these facilitiescontain materials terrorists could use to build anuclear or “dirty” bomb. Alternatively, power

Constructive as these engagementswere, the fact remains that the bulkof the burden has to be carried byAmerican sherpas at the NSG. If theysucceed, it would be a game changerfor bilateral relations. Obama andModi have mentioned the NSG in theirjoint statements and India has takenmany steps to fulfil its part of thebargain.

The new attitude is also reflected inIndia being “more open” and lessdefensive about its nuclearprogramme. It is participating in moreexpert group meetings, submittingjoint papers with the US, and seekingtechnical help. India is making surethat it is part of the dialogue movingforward after this fourth and lastNuclear Security Summit.

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plants could be “hijacked” to create an accidentof the sort experienced at Chernobyl andFukushima, sending clouds of radioactivity overhundreds of miles.

At Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C.,representatives from 52 countries pledged tocontinue improving their nuclear security andadopted action plans to work together and throughinternational agencies. But significant countrieslike Russia and Pakistan are not participating. Andmany in Europe are just beginning to considerphysical securitymeasures. From myperspective as a formernuclear regulator and nowas director of the Center forInternational Science andTechnology Policy atGeorge WashingtonUniversity, it is clear that nuclear plants arevulnerable to terrorist attacks.

Physical and Cyber Threats: It is not news thatsecurity is weak at many civilian nuclear powerand research facilities. In October 2012,Greenpeace activists entered two nuclear powerplants in Sweden by breaking open a gate andscaling fences without being stopped by guards.Four of them hid overnight on a roof at one reactorbefore surrendering the next morning.

Just this year, Sweden’s nuclear regulatory agencyadopted a requirement for armed guards andadditional security measures at the plants.However, these upgrades do not have to be inplace until early 2017. In 2014 French nuclearplants were plagued by unexplained droneoverflights. And Greenpeace activists broke intothe Fessenheim nuclear plant near the Germanborder and hung a large banner from the reactorbuilding.

In light of the recent Brussels attacks, reports fromBelgium are more alarming. In 2012 twoemployees at the country’s Doel nuclear powerstation left Belgium to fight in Syria. In 2014 anunidentified saboteur tampered with lubricant inthe turbine at the same reactor, causing the plant

to shut down for five months. And earlier this yearauthorities investigating the Paris attacksdiscovered video surveillance footage of a Belgiannuclear official in the home of one of the Parissuspects.

One has to assume that potential attackers mayunderstand how the sites and materials can beused. Given the heightened state of alert inEurope, governments should, I believe,immediately increase security at civilian nuclearfacilities. They could emulate the United States,

where security at nuclearfacilities has substantiallyincreased since theSeptember 11, 2001terrorist attacks.

American Role Model: USnuclear power plants now

are some of the most well-guarded facilities inthe world. The US NRC regulates both safety andsecurity at nuclear power plants. After 9/11, thesesites were required to add multiple layers ofprotection, with the cores of reactors (where thefuel is located) the most highly defended areas.

Up to one-third of the workforce at many USnuclear plants now is security-related. Manynuclear utilities used to hire contract securityforces; now guards at many of these plants areemployed directly by plant owners and haveopportunities to move to other jobs at their sites,increasing employee satisfaction and improvingperformance.

NRC regulations require US nuclear plants to holdregular drills in which well-trained former militaryunits attack the plants with up-to-date materialsand techniques. NRC observers evaluate theseexercises, and facility owners face stiff penaltiesfor failure. The United States has also adoptedregulations to ensure cyber security at reactors.As new, entirely digital reactors come online, suchmeasures will be more necessary than ever. Thesuccessful 2010 Stuxnet attack, for example, inwhich a computer worm infiltrated computers atIranian nuclear facilities and caused machines tomalfunction, showed how vulnerable unprotected

In 2014 French nuclear plants wereplagued by unexplained droneoverflights. And Greenpeace activistsbroke into the Fessenheim nuclear plantnear the German border and hung alarge banner from the reactor building.

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computer networks can be.Improving Security Worldwide: There are noglobal standards for physical protection at civiliannuclear facilities. Each country adopts its ownlaws and regulations dictating what nuclear siteowners are required to do to protect plants fromattack.As a result, measures at plants can vary widely,with some countries depending on the local policeforce for protection and leaving guards unarmed.Often the level of security depends on culturalnorms and attitudes, but the recent attacks inEurope suggest a rapid adjustment is needed.Here are steps that, in my view, all countries cantake to make nuclearplants more secure.

One priority is to provideenough funds to the IAEA,which has recentlyelevated its physicalsecurity section to assistmember countries lookingfor ways to protect theirnuclear plants moreeffectively. Since 2010 the agency has trainedmore than 10,000 people in nuclear security,including police and border guards. It also tracksillicit trafficking and other activities involvingnuclear material, and has recorded nearly 3,000such events since 1995.

Countries that have nuclear power plants orresearch reactors understandably tend not tospotlight the challenges of protecting these sites.But we know from instances like the ones citedabove that they exist. In many countries nuclearregulatory agencies oversee safety but notsecurity. Each of these nations needs to empoweran independent regulator to enforce newrequirements and inspect security at nuclear sites.Most importantly, security forces at nuclearfacilities should be required to practice attackscenarios regularly under the gaze of independentobservers. Countries such as the United Statesthat already have solid physical securityrequirements for nuclear facilities can help.

Nuclear regulators from all countries meet

regularly and could easily share information andtrain their counterparts on plant physical security.In December 2012, for example, the US NRCorganized the first-ever International RegulatorsConference on Nuclear Security. No othergovernment has offered to head up a follow-onmeeting since then.

And countries with existing reactors aren’t the onlyproblem. At least 60 countries have expressed adesire to acquire nuclear power. The UAE is in theprocess of constructing four reactors. Turkey andVietnam have made deals with the Russianmanufacturer, Rosatom, in which construction,financing, operation, even waste disposal, will be

handled solely by theRussians. Many of these“emergent” countries donot regularly attendConvention on NuclearSafety peer review meetingsat the International AtomicEnergy Agency. Without asecurity regime in place,how can we expect them to

do any better than the existing plants?

To prevent an attack at a nuclear site, governmentsmust take security at nuclear sites seriously now,not a year from now. In light of the current terroristthreat and with four Nuclear Security Summitscompleted, countries with nuclear plants need toup their game with regards to physical security atnuclear power facilities before it’s too late.

Source: http://www.usnews.com, 13 April 2016.

OPINION – Ibne Ali

Pakistan’s Coziness with Non-State ActorsRepresents the Single Greatest Global NuclearSecurity Threat

Cold war history is a cautious testament to thedeterrent capabilities of nuclear weapons. Timeshave changed, however. Today, in South Asia,Pakistan’s strategic manipulation of its nuclearcapability to conduct a proxy war with India ispushing the region towards a catastrophicscenario. Simply put, Pakistan is pushing the

measures at plants can vary widely,with some countries depending on thelocal police force for protection andleaving guards unarmed. Often thelevel of security depends on culturalnorms and attitudes, but the recentattacks in Europe suggest a rapidadjustment is needed.

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boundaries of what it can get away with. A countryembodying contradictions since it came toexistence last century, Pakistan has given moreand more cause for worryover the years, particularlysince 2007. …At the heart of theproblem is not Pakistan’s nucleararsenal, but its treacherous, self-destructive and parochial,alliance with extremistelements, whose machinationsare inevitably corrosive to thecountry’s fragile democracy.

Pakistan’s perennial non-unitary behavior, aspolitical scientist and nuclear strategy expertGeorge Perkovich puts it, creates ambiguity in itsstrategic intentions for its nuclear-armed rival,India. The Islamic state’s use of extremist militantsagainst India with little or no state control overthem, he rightly warns, creates a deadly sense ofambiguity in the country’s strategic intentions. Thelongstanding debate over why Washington shouldbe alarmed by a nuclear ally’s strategy of fosteringterrorism saw a decisive shift in the aftermath ofPeshawar school attack. As the coffins of morethan 130 uniformedchildren killed by theTaliban in December 2014rolled out, the moodchanged in Pakistan. Therewere expectations that theincident would shake theconscience of those whohad hand-reared the gun-toting militants and prompta change in the country’sdecades-old policy of usingterror networks as an instrument of foreign policy.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif went as far as sayingthat the state would not make any distinctionbetween good and bad Taliban any more, in whatwas seen by some as a self-incriminatingproclamation, conceding the state’s collusion withmilitant outfits. But 15 months since the atrocitiesat Peshawar, little appears to have changedfundamentally in Pakistan’s approach to dealing

with its home-grown militant groups, many ofwhom continue to function autonomously.Following the Peshawar massacre the pressure

on Islamabad to ‘dosomething’ was enormous.

Expectedly, it talked thetalk. But what followedonly confirmed that it wasgoing to be no more thancosmetic posturing. Aftergetting several politicalparties to agree on atwenty-point nationalaction plan on counter-terrorism, the Sharif

government swiftly swung into action. In additionto arresting thousands, it lifted a six-year oldmoratorium on death penalty, and executed 319people in less than a year. Since then, ratherunsurprisingly, it has emerged only 2 percent ofthose arrested had any connection with militantgroups. Meanwhile, a majority ofthose executed had nothing to do with terroristactivities.

Even though the number of terror attacks onPakistani soil has comedown over the past year,giving a facade of successon the ground, the progressis largely hollow. What hasbeen conspicuously lackingin the counter-terrorismaction plan is Pakistan’s willto dismantle its jihadiindustrial complex thatincorporates severalterrorist networks. Since

2000, despite international condemnation, nearlyall jihadist militant groups based in Pakistan arestill flourishing and openly recruiting withimpunity.

For example, despite a $10 million bounty on hishead, Hafez Saeed, the founder of LeT—the groupthat masterminded and executed the 2008Mumbai attack—comfortably runs another well-oiled propaganda group, JuD, which has a network

A country embodying contradictionssince it came to existence last century,Pakistan has given more and more causefor worry over the years, particularlysince 2007. …At the heart of the problemis not Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, but itstreacherous, self-destructive andparochial, alliance with extremistelements, whose machinations areinevitably corrosive to the country’sfragile democracy.

Even though the number of terrorattacks on Pakistani soil has come downover the past year, giving a facade ofsuccess on the ground, the progress islargely hollow. What has beenconspicuously lacking in the counter-terrorism action plan is Pakistan’s willto dismantle its jihadi industrialcomplex that incorporates severalterrorist networks.

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of 300 educational centres, all in the guise of areligious charity. Saeed’s close aide, who was ontrial for the 2008 Mumbai attacks,was released from jail last year. LeT and similargroups highlight where the fears over the safetyof Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal lie. For it’s not somuch the activities of these jihadist groups astheir potential far-reaching access into thesecurity apparatus that causes severe discomfort.US scholar John Mueller has made a compellingargument debunking fears of Pakistani nuclearweapons falling into the hands of even the moststeadfast and single-minded terrorist groups orother non-state actors.

Even if they did, he argued, the rogue groupwould be hard pressed to furtively acquire thetechnical know-how for asuccessful launch ordetonation. He, however,did not account for a rangeof complexities uniquelybesetting a country likePakistan. With threemilitary coups sinceindependence, Pakistan’smilitary presents a uniquemix of dangers and risks.United in their target butdisunited in their techniques, the myriad actors—the army, the civilian government, the Inter-Services Intelligence, and militant groups—running this deeply troubled country are oftendifficult to tell apart and blur together.

Out of this mix, however, Islamist groups nowhold the greatest sway over the masses. This isparticularly worrisome in the wake of the currentglobal climate of hysteria whipped by the likesof the Islamic State, Boko Haram, and Al Shabab.Islamic fundamentalists’ appeal and grasp overthe masses is dangerously far reaching and onlygrowing deeper. …

Moreover, consider LeT—arguably the largestjihadi group in South Asia, with a base of severalthousand fighters, many of whom are well-educated, debunking the myth that extremism isthe consequence of poverty and ignorance. LeT’s

largest jihadist cohort comes from the Punjabregion, which is also the largest recruiting groundfor the Pakistani army. More alarmingly though isthe kinship many fighters have with those in thearmy, national institutions, and political elite, asrevealed by several independent studies.Shockingly, one militant’s obituary went as far asclaiming a close familial relationship with adirector of Pakistan’s Atomic Energy Commission.

The smouldering antipathy towards the West ingeneral and India in particular is not limited to theradicals alone. Evidence of deep-seatedradicalization in the Pakistani army’s middle andlower ranks, sections of whom collaborate withthe ISI to train and handle militant groups, has beenmounting for years. This radicalization is the result

of a deep-running long-term resentment againsttheir own government ’salliance with the UnitedStates during its war onterror, which over the yearshas forced them to turn onthe militant groups theythemselves nurtured overthree decades and withwhom they share commonreligious ideologies.

The real danger, thus, lies in Pakistan’s refusal toacknowledge its own deep-seated malaise. Justdays before the Nuclear Security Summit, SartajAziz, Prime Minister Sharif’s advisor on foreignaffairs, remains adamant on branding India as abigger danger to Pakistan’s security than home-grown terrorism. There are no indications thatsuggest Pakistan’s willingness in recalibrating thisdeadly calculus in the region either. Islamabad’ssteadfast refusal to reduce the number of itsnuclear warheads following the Pakistan-USStrategic Dialogue in Washington earlier in Marchonly strengthens the supposition that the country’smilitary cannot separate its institutional interestsfrom its broader security policy towards India andAfghanistan.

Pakistan must realize that similar to any fraternity,the exclusive nuclear weapon states club expects

The real danger, thus, lies in Pakistan’srefusal to acknowledge its own deep-seated malaise. Just days before theNuclear Security Summit, Sartaj Azizremains adamant on branding India asa bigger danger to Pakistan’s securitythan home-grown terrorism. There areno indications that suggest Pakistan’swillingness in recalibrating this deadlycalculus in the region either.

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its members to abide by certain conditions. Theability of these states to demonstrate a statemonopoly over the deployment of physical forceand restricting the use of their nuclear endowmentsto deterrence purposes are among the mostimportant conditions in the clique’s unwrittenrulebook. Pakistan’s use of non-state actors inpursuit of its foreign policy objectives andwillingness to ‘use’ nuclear weapons in aconventional conflict may not revoke the country’smembership in this club, but its administratorsreserve the right to introduce new stringent rulesfor its members.

Source: http://thediplomat.com/, 30 March 2016.

OPINION – KYODO

Nuclear Weapons-free World Seems Distant

Japan tried to revive momentum toward a worldfree of nuclear weapons atthe Group of Seven foreignministers’ meeting inHiroshima, but questionsremained about how to getstates like North Korea togive up their nuclearambitions as well as how toremove deep-seated fears about losing nucleardeterrence.

The meeting in Hiroshima, the first of the twoJapanese cities to suffer US A-bomb attacks in 1945,was highlighted by a symbolic visit by US Secretaryof State John Kerry to the Hiroshima Peace Park.On the fringes of the two-day G7 meeting, Kerrylaid flowers at a cenotaph for atomic bomb victimsalong with counterparts from countries includingBritain and France, becoming the first US secretaryof state to do so.

The ministers also released the HiroshimaDeclaration on Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, separate from the usual jointcommunique, noting that Hiroshima and Nagasaki“experienced immense devastation and humansuffering as a consequence of the atomicbombings.” The declaration also said, “Fordecades, political leaders like us and other visitors

have come to Hiroshima and Nagasaki and beendeeply moved. We hope others follow the path.We share the deep desire of the people ofHiroshima and Nagasaki that nuclear weaponsnever be used again.”

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida told apress conference after the gathering, “The G7members, which include both nuclear-weaponsstates and nonnuclear-weapons states, wereable to reach a consensus and issue a strongmessage. I strongly believe that was significant.”

Kishida carefully planned the wording of theHiroshima Declaration and the logistics of theG7 foreign ministers’ visits to the park throughconsultations with respective governments priorto the meeting. He hoped that such visits byglobal leaders and a declaration would revivedisarmament talks that have recently suffered

severe setbacks as seenin the breakdown of theU.N. disarmamentconference last year.

If Kerry’s historic visit tothe peace park is metpositively in the UnitedStates and Japan, the

White House may seriously consider a visit byUS President Barack Obama to the park. Hopeshave grown that Obama will visit Hiroshima afterhis ambitious vision of a world without nuclearweapons announced in a landmark speech inPrague in April 2009 won him the Nobel PeacePrize. But as seen in the collapse last year ofthe NPT review meeting, nuclear and non-nuclearstates remain divided.

Non-nuclear countries such as Austria andMexico are pushing for a legal ban on nuclearweapons, a move nuclear powers including theUnited States and France see as too early givenexisting security concerns. Last November, aJapan-sponsored draft resolution calling for theabolition of nuclear weapons receivedoverwhelming approval from a UN GeneralAssembly committee but failed to secureendorsement from the United States and other

Non-nuclear countries such as Austriaand Mexico are pushing for a legal banon nuclear weapons, a move nuclearpowers including the United Statesand France see as too early givenexisting security concerns.

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key powers. None of the five nuclear powers thatsit on the UN Security Council endorsed thedocument. In what was particularly alarming forJapan, Britain, France and the United Statesabstained after they had supported the Japan-ledinitiative the previous year.

“The release of the Hiroshima Declaration andthe visit by G7 foreign ministers to the park arehoped to revive the stalled disarmament talks butrealistically speaking, such initiatives are notenough to counter thedowntrend in disarmamenttalks,” said Heigo Sato, aprofessor at TakushokuUniversity who specializesin arms control. “However,Japan is destined toarticulate the humanitarianimpact of the use of nuclearweapons and the pursuit ofdisarmament is one of thepillars of the country’sdiplomatic policy. I thinkForeign Minister Kishida is in a difficult position,”Sato said.

Japan’s stressing of the humanitarian impact ofusing nuclear weapons may hurt its relations withthe United States, which offers Japan securityprotection under its extended nuclear umbrella,Sato said. In apparent consideration of the nuclearpowers in the G7 framework, the phrase“humanitarian impact” was dropped fromMonday’s declaration in reference to the use ofnuclear weapons, despite it being traditionallystressed by Japan in previous disarmament-related statements. Instead, the phrase “humansufferings” was included in reference to thedevastation experienced by Hiroshima andNagasaki.

Experts also say there is little room for the UnitedStates to advance disarmament talks given itssoured ties with Russia over the Ukraine crisis.Russian President Vladimir Putin has said onRussian state-run television that Moscow wasready to put its nuclear forces on alert overRussia’s confrontation with the West regarding

Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea in 2014.

“Disarmament and security are inseparable. Sowe must take a realistic approach,” said a seniorJapanese Foreign Ministry official. “The (nuclear-weapons-free) world that President Obama saidhe will aim for has not been realized. In contrast,the importance of the power of nuclear deterrencehas gained renewed recognition in the NorthAtlantic Treaty Organization because of Russia.”

Ironically, Japan is likely to become moredependent on theprotection of the US nuclearumbrella amid NorthKorea’s heighteningnuclear threats and theChinese military buildup.“The United States willcontinue to extenddeterrence to Japanthrough the full range ofcapabilities, including USnuclear forces,” reads the

Guidelines for Japan-US Defense Cooperation,which were revised in April last year.

Source: Japan Today, 14 April 2016.

NUCLEAR STRATEGY

INDIA

India Conducts Secret Test of Submarine-launched K-4 Nuclear-Capable Missile

India has reportedly conducted a secret test ofthe nuclear-capable undersea ballistic missile,code named K-4. As per a report published in TheNew Indian Express, the SLBM was test-fired fromINS Arihant at an undisclosed location in the Bayof Bengal. The report quoted a source as sayingthat the missile was test-fired on March 31 some45 nautical miles from the Vishakhapatnam coastin Andhra Pradesh. The missile test was dubbedas ‘highly successful’.

The K-4 missile, developed indigenously, was test-fired with a dummy payload in full operationalconfiguration. The report said the missile waslaunched from a 20-meter depth and successfully

Ironically, Japan is likely to becomemore dependent on the protection ofthe US nuclear umbrella amid NorthKorea’s heightening nuclear threatsand the Chinese military buildup. “TheUnited States will continue to extenddeterrence to Japan through the fullrange of capabilities, including USnuclear forces,” reads the Guidelinesfor Japan-US Defense Cooperation

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broke through the water surface. Among thenotable features of the K-4 SLBM, its range is3,500 km. The missile measures 12 metre in lengthand 1.3 metre in width. Itweighs 17 tonnes and cancarry a nuclear payload of2,000 kilograms. Its engineis solid fuelled. It may beremembered that aprototype of K-15 (B-05)missile was test-fired fromINS Arihant last November.

Source: http://zeenews.india.com, 13 April 21016.

NUCLEAR ENERGY

CHINA

World’s First 4th-Generation Nuclear PowerPlant

China has stepped up its efforts to commerciallyutilize a fourth-generation nuclear reactor. At acoastal town in east China, a high-temperature,gas-cooled reactor is being constructed. It ’sclaimed to be the safest in the country. The projecthas been designed to merge high efficiency andoutput, with minimum radiation leakage. CCTVreporter visited the plantand filed this exclusivereport. Shidao Bay, on theeastern tip of the ShandongPeninsula.

A nuclear power plant,using fourth generationtechnology, is taking shape. It’s China’s first withindependent intellectual property rights. HeYunsheng began his career in the nuclear industryin 1985. Now he is in charge of this national pilotprogram. “An obvious feature of the 4th generationnuclear reactor is the intrinsic safety of the fuelelements, which are covered by silicon carbideparticles. It will not result in radiation leakagebecause of the passive cooling system. Unlike thesecond and third generation reactors, the fourthwill not experience a nuclear meltdown,” said HeYunsheng, General Manager of HuanengShandong Shidao Bay Nuclear Power Plant.

Construction of the Shidao Bay Power Plantstarted in December, 2012. With a designedcapacity of 200 megawatts, it will start generating

power by the end of 2017.The design involves tworeactors and steamgenerators, and oneturbine generator.“Generation Four nucleartechnology can enhancepower generationefficiency, and is much

safer, its multi-functional nature will furtherincrease the proportion of clean energy in China.It can also bring power generation to publicheating services,” said He. The reactor is gas-cooled using helium. This removes heat from fuelpebbles in the reactor’s core and starts the steamgenerators. This is the core of the high-temperature gas-cooled nuclear reactor. Oncecompleted, over 400 thousand fuel pebbles likethis will be put inside to produce a temperatureas high as 750 degrees Celsius. The designinvolves four protection layers to avoid radiationleakage. He Yunsheng says Chinese scientistshave worked on the reactor’s safety features sincethe 1970s.

However, even with thecurrent high standards, hebelieves there’s still roomfor improvement. “The mainchallenge is to improve itseconomic efficiency. Whatwe are now doing is a pilotprogram. More efforts

should be done in the near future to optimize thedesign so that we can compete with others typesof nuclear power plants. I believe we have thatpotential,” said He Yunsheng. The whole projectat Shidao Bay is estimated to be completed in2024 when the plant’s capacity will be 40 timeshigher than that of next year. By then, Mr. He willbe approaching retirement. After a lifetime ofwork in the nuclear industry, he says his only hopeis that the technology continues to be used safely.

Source: http://english.cctv.com, 04 April 2016.

Construction of the Shidao Bay PowerPlant started in December, 2012. With adesigned capacity of 200 megawatts, itwill start generating power by the endof 2017. The design involves two reactorsand steam generators, and one turbinegenerator.

Once completed, over 400 thousandfuel pebbles like this will be put insideto produce a temperature as high as750 degrees Celsius. The design involvesfour protection layers to avoidradiation leakage.

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INDIA

Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant First UnitWould Soon Generate 1000 MW

The first reactor of Kudankulam Nuclear PowerPlant would generate power to its full capacity of1,000 MW within a few days, KNPP site directorR.S. Sundar said on 8 April,2016. Speaking to reportersin Tirunelveli on thesidelines of a function, hesaid the first unit waspresently generating 960MW and it would generatepower to its maximumcapacity in a few days.

Kudankulam Nuclear PowerPlant started commercialoperations on December 31, 2014. Fuel loadingwork in the second reactor would take place duringthe month-end, he said, adding power generationwould begin after obtaining requisite permissionfrom the AERB. Construction work for the thirdand fourth reactors wouldstart this year, he added.Earlier on June 24, 2015 thefirst plant at KNPP, an Indo-Russian collaborativeventure, was shut down formaintenance after being incommercial operation sinceDecember 31, 2014. Powergeneration at the planthad resumed on January30, 2016. The plant crossedthe 1,000 MW milestone onJune 7, 2014 at 1.20 p.m.

Source: http://www. thehindu. com, 08 April 2016.

IRAN

Iran Eyes Regional Cooperation on NuclearIndustry

Iran has plans to promote cooperation with theregional countries, particularly the Persian Gulfneighbors, on the employment of nuclear

technology for peaceful purposes, Spokesman forthe Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI)Behrouz Kamalvandi said. In an interview with al-Alam News Network on 10 April 2016, Kamalvandisaid the neighboring countries need toimmediately set aside the Western-inspirednotion of a threat posed by Iran, and called for

the expansion ofcooperation even in thefield of peaceful nuclearenergy. There existabundant opportunities forcooperation with theneighbors, especially in thePersian Gulf region, headded. Kamalvandi alsopointed to a series of plansfor closer regionalcooperation on the nuclear

industry, saying they will be unveiled in future.More reciprocal visits between Iran and theregional countries will set the ground forcooperation in various nuclear fields, such asmedicine and agriculture, he explained. The

spokesman further notedthat Iran’s centrifugemachines can helpdevelopment of theregion’s oil and gasindustries at a reasonableprice.

Global enthusiasm fornuclear cooperation withIran has grown afterimplementation of theJCPOA, a lasting nuclearagreement betweenTehran and the Group 5+1.

The deal has enabled Iran to enter theinternational nuclear trade, leaving it with theoption to work with many nuclear countries.France, Spain, South Korea and many othercountries have expressed willingness to work withIran in the nuclear industry.

Source: http://www.tasnimnews.com, 11 April2016.

Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plantstarted commercial operations onDecember 31, 2014. Fuel loading workin the second reactor would take placeduring the month-end, adding powergeneration would begin afterobtaining requisite permission fromthe AERB. Construction work for thethird and fourth reactors would startthis year

Global enthusiasm for nuclearcooperation with Iran has grown afterimplementation of the JCPOA, a lastingnuclear agreement between Tehranand the Group 5+1. The deal hasenabled Iran to enter the internationalnuclear trade, leaving it with theoption to work with many nuclearcountries. France, Spain, South Koreaand many other countries haveexpressed willingness to work with Iranin the nuclear industry.

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UAE

UAE’s Barakah NuclearProject 62% Ready

The UAE’s Barakah NuclearPower Plant is more than62% complete. EmiratesNuclear EnergyCorporation (ENEC) isdeveloping the project inAbu Dhabi’s WesternRegion as part of the UAE’speaceful nuclear energy programme. Construction works at Barakah NPP commencedin 2012, and its four nuclear energy units are duefor completion in 2020. Unit 1 is over 85%complete, Unit 2 is 67% complete, Unit 3 is 44%complete, and Unit 4 is 27% complete so far. Whenin operation, the fourreactors are expected todeliver a quarter of theUAE’s electricity needs, andsave up to 12 million tonnesannually in carbonemissions. Theseannouncements were madeduring a visit made byattendees of the WorldNuclear Fuel Cycleconference, stateagency WAM sa id . D rMohamed Chookah, ENECexecutive director ofnuclear fuel procurement,hosted the visit.

Source: http://www.constructionweekonline.com,10 April 2016.

NUCLEAR COOPERATION

UK–FRANCE

European Nuclear Plans in Turmoil as French Minister Admits Serious Doubts

The French energy minister, Ségolène Royal, hassaid that she is seriously considering postponingthe construction of a new nuclear power stationin the UK, amid cost-overruns and technicaldifficulties at two of its plants in France andFinland. The largely French state-owned energy

giant EDF has been drawingup plans to build the next-generation nuclear powerstation at HinkleyPoint in the southwestof England, but has been hitby a series of deals and thecompany is yet to make afinal investment decisionover the project. Theproject has been hitby financial woes becauseof a drop in demand

for nuclear power since the Fukushima disaster,in March 2011, when a magnitude nine earthquakeset off a tsunami that hit the Fukushima Daiichinuclear plant resulting in the meltdown of threeof the plant’s six nuclear reactors.

In a French televisioninterview on 7 April 2016,French energy minister,Ségolène Royal, was askedwhether Hinkley Pointwould be postponed. “It’sstill under discussion.There’s an agreementbetween France andBritain, so things should goahead. But the trade unionsare right to ask for thestakes to be re-examined.EDF has been strugglingto get building underwayat Hinkley Point becausethe sheer cost of building

the plant has been a major sticking point,with British taxpayers being forced to back thedeal by providing a guaranteed price of generatedelectricity from the plant. EDF Energy — the UKsubsidiary of EDF — agreed a ‘strike price’ with theUK Government, which guarantees EDF a priceof US$141 MWh for generating electricity over 35years and a debt guarantee. Despite this,problems with EDF’s partner Areva — whichmanufactures the nuclear reactor — have ledto delays in putting finance into place.

French Financial Fears: In 2015, EDF’s constructionpartner, Areva, announced huge losses and theFrench Government is attempting a rescue planthat will include a bailout from EDF. This is turn

Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC)is developing the project in Abu Dhabi’sWestern Region as part of the UAE’speaceful nuclear energy programme. Construction works at Barakah NPPcommenced in 2012, and its four nuclearenergy units are due for completion in2020. Unit 1 is over 85% complete, Unit 2 is67% complete, Unit 3 is 44% complete, andUnit 4 is 27% complete so far.

The French energy minister has saidthat she is seriously consideringpostponing the construction of a newnuclear power station in the UK, amidcost-overruns and technical difficultiesat two of its plants in France andFinland. The largely French state-ownedenergy giant EDF has been drawingup plans to build the next-generation nuclear power stationat Hinkley Point, but has been hit by aseries of deals and the company is yetto make a final investment decisionover the project.

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has had a knock-on to Hinkley, where —despite China General Nuclear Power Corporation(CGN) agreeing to pay a third of the cost of theUS$25 billion project in exchange for a 33.5percent stake — EDF is said to be having troubleraising its 66.5 percent of the cost.

The CEO of EDF, Jean-Bernard Lévy, in Septemberannounced a furtherpostponement of thecommissioning of thegigantic new nuclear powerstation at Flamanvillein northern France andadmitted the price has morethan tripled. Levy said thefirst French third-generation EPR with a capacity of 1650 MW willcost in the region of US$12 billion — morethan three times the original projected costof US$3.37 billion and fuel loading will not evenstart until late 2018, six years behind schedule.Meanwhile, construction by EDF and Siemensof the Olkiluoto nuclear plant in Finland — basedon the same design as Flamanville has alsosuffered many delays and cost over-runs.

Source: http://sputniknews.com, 08 April 2016.

USA–KAZAKSTAN

USA and Kazakhstan Energy PartnershipExtends Cooperation

The Kazakhstan-United States Energy PartnershipCommission on 7 April 2016signed a joint statement ata meeting in Kazakhstanthat was co-chaired byKazakh energy minister K ABosumbayev and US energysecretary Ernest Moniz. Themeeting was held as afollow-up to the 11thsession of the SpecialCommission on the EnergyPartnership (SCEP), duringwhich discussions were held on nuclear securityand nuclear energy, alternative energy andelectricity, energy conservation and increasingenergy efficiency.

The US DOE said: “Notably, within the framework

of the SCEP, concrete targets have been reachedin cooperation in the field of conversion ofKazakhstan’s research reactors and enforcementof physical nuclear security.” It added that, alsoduring the past year, experts from the Kazakhenergy ministry and the DOE had held bilateraltalks on international carbon sequestration and

the use of cleantechnologies. The Republicof Kazakhstan wasrepresented at the sessionby officials from theKazakh energy and foreignministries, state-owneduranium producerKazAtomProm, theKazenergy Association,

KazMunaiGas, Samruk-Energy, EXPO-2017, theNational Nuclear Centre, and the Nuclear PhysicsInstitute. US delegates were from the DOE, theUS embassy in Kazakhstan and the NationalNuclear Security Administration.

After the signing ceremony on 7 April 2016, thetwo ministers discussed the 2016 work plan,“which encourages the use of alternative energysources in Kazakhstan, reduces emissions, andenhances nuclear safety”, the DOE said.KazAtomProm and Centrus Energy signed amemorandum of cooperation last October thatspecifies the development of mutually beneficialrelations on competitive supplies of Kazakhstan’suranium to the world market. Bethesda, Maryland-based Centrus Energy supplies enriched uranium

fuel for commercial nuclearpower plants in the USAand around the world.Earlier, KazAtomProm andConverDyn signed anagreement whereby theworld’s largest uraniumproducer and the “leadingprovider” of UF6conversion services willjointly and immediatelyoffer uranium in the form of

natural UF6 to global utilities. UF6 is the naturaluranium feedstock for the enrichment step in thenuclear fuel cycle.

In 2014, Kazakhstan became the leading supplierof uranium to US nuclear power plants, overtaking

The Kazakhstan-United States EnergyPartnership Commission on 7 April2016 signed a joint statement at ameeting in Kazakhstan that was co-chaired by Kazakh energy minister K ABosumbayev and US energy secretaryErnest Moniz.

In 2014, Kazakhstan became theleading supplier of uranium to USnuclear power plants, overtakingAustralia, according to the US EnergyInformation Administration. Of theuranium purchased by US reactorowners and operators, 23% was ofKazakh origin, while 20% came fromAustralia and 18% from Canada.

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Australia, according to the US Energy InformationAdministration. Of the uranium purchased by USreactor owners and operators, 23% was of Kazakhorigin, while 20% came from Australia and 18%from Canada.

Source: http://www.world-nuclear-news.org, 08April 2016.

NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION

IRAN

Iran Is Fully ComplyingWith Nuclear Deal: IAEAChief Yukiya Amano

The Director General of theIAEA, Yukiya Amano, hasconfirmed that Iran iscomplying with the terms ofthe nuclear deal and itsobligations under the JCPOA between Tehran andworld powers, saying that the deal is a “clear gainfor nuclear verification” in the Islamic Republic.“It (Iran) is implementing not just its safeguardsagreement with the Agency, but also its AdditionalProtocol. Transparency measures which gobeyond Iran’s obligations under its formalagreements with the IAEAhave also been agreed,”Amano told reporters aftera two-day summit onnuclear security inWashington. “The JCPOA(Joint Comprehensive Planof Action) is a clear gain fornuclear verification in Iran,”he added. The NuclearSecurity Summit 2016ended on 1 April, 2016….

Source: http://en.dailypakistan.com.pk, 02 April2016.

NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION

SOUTH KOREA

Calls in South Korea for Nuclear WeaponsReflect V iews US Security Guarantees areFragile

Renewed calls in South Korea for theredeployment of US tactical nuclear weapons to

the country or its own nuclear armament reflectconcerns that US security guarantees are “fragile,”a US congressional report said. The North’s fourthnuclear test in January and its long-range rocketlaunch in February have led some leadingmembers of South Korea’s ruling party to makethe case for nuclear armament, arguing that itmakes no sense to rely on the US “nuclearumbrella” as the North’s nuclear arsenal grows.

But the governmentrejected the idea ascontrary to the principle ofa nuclear-free KoreanP e n i n s u l a . “ S o m epoliticians in South Koreahave called for the returnof US nuclear weapons tothe peninsula, or evenSouth Korea’s developmentof its own nuclear

capability, as a response to North Korea’sdevelopment and testing of nuclear weapons,” theCongressional Research Service said in a reporton nonstrategic nuclear weapons. “This view hasnot received the support of the currentgovernment in South Korea, but it does

demonstrate that somemay see US securityguarantees as fragile,” itsaid.

The report also said that thedebate over therelationship between USnuclear weapons and nonproliferation policy has alsofocused on extendeddeterrence and the

assurances the United States provides to its allies.Many analysts have argued that, if these allieswere not confident in the reliability and credibilityof the US nuclear arsenal, they may feelcompelled to acquire their own nuclear weapons,it said. Such a view is evident among analysts whoexpress concerns that Turkey, in particular, withits proximity to Iran, might pursue its own nuclearweapons if the United States were to withdrawits tactical nuclear weapons from Europe, thereport said. “Such calculations might also be

It (Iran) is implementing not just itssafeguards agreement with theAgency, but also its AdditionalProtocol. Transparency measureswhich go beyond Iran’s obligationsunder its formal agreements with theIAEA have also been agreed,” Amanotold reporters after a two-day summiton nuclear security in Washington.

Some politicians in South Korea havecalled for the return of US nuclearweapons to the peninsula, or evenSouth Korea’s development of its ownnuclear capability, as a response toNorth Korea’s development and testingof nuclear weapons,” the CongressionalResearch Service said in a report onnonstrategic nuclear weapons.

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evident in Japan and South Korea, as they facethreats or intimidation from nuclear-armedneighbors like China and North Korea,” it said.

Calls for South Korea’s nuclear armament werefueled by US Republicanpresidential front-runnerDonald Trump’s suggestionthat he could allow theAsian ally to develop its ownnuclear arsenal for self-defense in order to reduceUS security burdens. But thesuggestion has since beenstrongly denounced ascontrary to non-proliferationprinciples. US PresidentBarack Obama has alsoopenly criticized Trump, saying the statementsabout nuclear armament “tell us that the personwho made the statements doesn’t know muchabout foreign policy or nuclear policy or the KoreanPeninsula or the world generally.” Secretary ofState John Kerry also slammed the suggestion,saying nothing can be “more volatile” or “morecontrary” to peace and stability.

Source: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr, 11 April2016.

NUCLEAR SAFETY

JAPAN

Japan Hosts FirstInternational Forum onD e c o m m i s s i o n i n gFukushima Plant

The 1st International Forumon the Decommissioning ofthe Fukushima Daiichinuclear power plant beganon 10 April, 2016, in northeastern Japan with the aimof promoting advances inthe long process of puttinga lid on the 2011 nuclearcrisis. The two-day forum is being hosted by theMinistry of Economy, Trade and Industry in Iwaki,

Fukushima Prefecture, some 40 kilometers fromthe plant where the nuclear disaster struck onMarch 11, 2011, as a result of an earthquake anda tsunami. “The main aim of the event includesprominently technical fields such as

decommissioning andresidue management,”said Spanish national JuanCarlos Lentijo, deputydirector general of the IAEA.“It deals with sharingexperience and knowledgewith an eye on perfectingand orienting thedecommissioning tasks atthe Fukushima plant(estimated to take three to

four decades) and which can be used in the futurein other installations,” he added.

The forum will deal with the evaluation of risksencountered in the operations at the Fukushimaplant, and analysis of possible strategies toremove the melted fuel, the most complex task inthe whole process. “It will also deal withunderstanding what occurred and learning lessonsfrom it,” said Lentijo, who also heads the IAEADepartment of Nuclear Safety and Security. At theforum, Lentijo went over all the Fukushima-relatedactivities undertaken by his organization after the

accident, includingdecontamination insideand outside the plant.

The forum, which wasattended William D.Magwood IV, director-general of the OECDNuclear Energy Agency,also seeks to promoteadvances in research anddevelopment fordecommissioning workthrough the use ofmachinery and robots. Inthis regard,

representatives from leading firms and researchcenters are also participating in the meet. Lentejothen went on to underline the importance of

Calls for South Korea’s nuclear armamentwere fueled by US Republicanpresidential front-runner DonaldTrump’s suggestion that he could allowthe Asian ally to develop its own nucleararsenal for self-defense in order toreduce US security burdens. But thesuggestion has since been stronglydenounced as contrary to non-proliferation principles.

The main aim of the event includesprominently technical fields such asdecommissioning and residuemanagement,” said Spanish nationalJuan Carlos Lentijo, deputy directorgeneral of the IAEA. “It deals withsharing experience and knowledgewith an eye on perfecting and orientingthe decommissioning tasks at theFukushima plant (estimated to takethree to four decades) and which canbe used in the future in otherinstallations.

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“improving communication” between the nuclearindustry and the public. “Public acceptance iscrucial. The people want to know about theadvances regarding the Fukushima case, or whatrisks persist with regard to safety and it isimportant to correctly transmit this information,”he said.

Source: http://www.laht.com, 11 April 2016.

NUCLEAR SECURITY

GENERAL

UN Treaty to ProtectNuclear Materials fromTerrorists Takes Effect inMay

More than 100 countries willhave to implement morerobust standards tosafeguard nuclearmaterials and facilities as ofMay, the UN’s IAEA announced. Nicaragua ratifieda decade-old amendment to the Convention onthe CPPNM, bringing the number of countries toratify the bill to 102, meaning the amendmentpassed the two-thirds threshold to go into effect.The CPPNM entered into force in 1987 andaddressed the physical protection of peaceful-usenuclear material during international transport.The amendment goesfurther by requiringcountries to protectnuclear facilities andmaterial useddomestically, includingstorage and transport.“This is an important dayfor efforts to strengthennuclear security aroundthe world,” said IAEADirector General YukiyaAmano in a statement. Theamendment “will helpreduce the risk of aterrorist attack involving nuclear material, whichcould have catastrophic consequences.”The updated convention broadens currentoffenses for the theft of nuclear material and

identifies new offenses such as the smuggling ofnuclear material and sabotage of nuclear facilitiesor material. It also obliges countries to cooperateand share intelligence to relocate and retrieve lostor stolen nuclear materials.Over the past two decades, there have beennearly 3,000 cases of nuclear materialdisappearing, being illegally trafficked or foundin the possession of unauthorized individuals,

according to the IAEA.While in most instances thenuclear material could notbe used to create anuclear bomb, in somecases it could be used fora dirty bomb designed todisperse radioactivematerial.

S o u r c e : h t t p : / /www.dw.com, 08 April2016.

NuclearSecurity Agreement Efforts “Have NowPaid Off” Says IAEA Director

A new nuclear security agreement finally cameinto effect on 8 April 2016, more than a decadeafter it was drafted. The IAEA said that the nuclearagreement showed its efforts “have now paid off”.The Amendment to the 1980 CPPNM was drafted

in 2005 but could not comeinto force until it was ratifiedby two thirds of the Stateswho were party to it. Morethan a decade after it wasagreed upon at the secondDiplomatic Conference, theAmendment to the CPPNMwill come into effect.

The Director General of theIAEA, Yukiya Amano, said itwas “an important day forefforts to strengthennuclear security around theworld. One hundred and two

countries have now deposited their instrumentsof ratification, acceptance or approval of theAmendment to the Convention on the PhysicalProtection of Nuclear Material. It will help reduce

Over the past two decades, there havebeen nearly 3,000 cases of nuclearmaterial disappearing, being illegallytrafficked or found in the possession ofunauthorized individuals, according tothe IAEA. While in most instances thenuclear material could not be used tocreate a nuclear bomb, in some cases itcould be used for a dirty bomb designedto disperse radioactive material.

Yukiya Amano, said it was “an importantday for efforts to strengthen nuclearsecurity around the world. Onehundred and two countries have nowdeposited their instruments ofratification, acceptance or approval ofthe Amendment to the Convention onthe Physical Protection of NuclearMaterial. It will help reduce the risk ofa terrorist attack involving nuclearmaterial, which could have catastrophicconsequences.

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the risk of a terrorist attack involving nuclearmaterial, which could have catastrophicconsequences.” TheAmendment makes it legallybinding for countries toprotect nuclear facilities, aswell as nuclear material indomestic use, storage andtransport. It will alsoincrease internationalcooperation in locating andrecovering stolen orsmuggled nuclear material.The IAEA has worked hard in the last few years toencourage countries to adhere to the Amendment.Our efforts have now paid off. The Amendmentwill become legally enforceable on 8 May, 2016.

Source: http://m.gbcghana.com, 10 April 2016.

SINGAPORE

Singapore to Beef Up Nuclear Security, PM LeeSays

Tighter checks on radioactive materials passingthrough its ports and a new facility that canconduct radiation-nuclear detection and analysisare some of the steps Singapore has taken, saysPrime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Singapore willroll out tighter controls todetect and analyseradioactive and nuclearmaterials passing throughits borders, Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong said. PMLee said this at the 4th NSSin Washington, DC on 1April, 2016, where morethan 50 countries sharedtheir progress in strengthening nuclear security.

Since the first NSS in 2010, Singapore hastightened checks on radioactive materials passingthrough its ports, with every case of nuclear fueltransiting through Singapore being tracked. “Fromtime to time, we have intercepted cargo andconfiscated items,” Mr Lee said. He said thatSingapore had recently discovered a significantamount of thorium - a radioactive element which

can be used as nuclear fuel. A laboratory calledthe Protective Analytical and Assessment Facility

(PAAF), plans for whichwere first announced in2011, will also be ready thisyear. The lab, located atPasir Panjang, will be ableto conduct radiation-nuclear detection andanalysis. On top of that, thecity-state also cooperateswith international partnerssuch as the Interpol Global

Complex for Innovation in Singapore, whichfosters the sharing of data about transnationalthreats among countries. Singapore alsoparticipates in the Proliferation Security Initiative– a global effort that combats the trafficking ofweapons of mass destruction. It also adopts therecommendations of the Financial Agency TaskForce, which is an intergovernmental body thatfights against money laundering and terrorismfunding.

With the world becoming increasingly vulnerableto terrorism, a nuclear attack by terrorists usingdevices bought from the black market is “veryplausible and believable”, and is a threat whichcountries must take seriously, Mr Lee said. In its

Dabiq magazine publishedlast May, the Islamic Statemilitant group had describedsuch a scenario – where itlaunches a major attack withdevices from the blackmarket, Mr Lee said, urgingthe global community tocontinue fighting against

nuclear terrorism. …Mr Lee said, adding thatSingapore also takes a serious view of the issue.Since the NSS began in 2010, more than 3.8 metrictons of nuclear materials have been removedglobally. This amount could be used to make morethan 150 nuclear weapons.

… Mr Lee also touched on the region’s plans fornuclear power plants. Vietnam and Indonesia areamong the ASEAN countries planning to developsuch facilities.

Singapore had recently discovered asignificant amount of thorium - aradioactive element which can be usedas nuclear fuel. A laboratory called theProtective Analytical and AssessmentFacility (PAAF), plans for which werefirst announced in 2011, will also beready this year.

With the world becoming increasinglyvulnerable to terrorism, a nuclearattack by terrorists using devicesbought from the black market is “veryplausible and believable”, and is athreat which countries must takeseriously, Mr Lee said.

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Nuclear power plants arenot in itself a security issue,he said. “The risk is safetyand in case of sabotage ortheft of material, then wehave a problem. That’s whywe are building up ourcapabilities to understandnuclear safety and that’swhy we participate inconferences like this,because the security partrequires international cooperation.”….

Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com, 02April 2016.

NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT

GENERAL

G-7 Foreign Ministers Push NuclearDisarmament in Hiroshima

The Hiroshima declaration aims to revitalise themomentum for the effort toward making a worldwithout nuclear weapons. They also condemnedrecent terrorist attacks in a range of countriesTurkey, Belgium, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Pakistanand pledged to complete a G7 action plan tocounter terrorism that the leaders of their nationscan adopt at their summit in late May. Theministers also condemned “ in the strongestterms” this year’s nuclear test and rocket launchby North Korea, and a subsequent series of missilelaunches. They renewed their condemnation towhat they called Russia’s “illegal annexation” ofthe Crimean peninsula in Ukraine, and urgedRussia to observe therecent Minsk agreement toresolve the dispute.Meeting in Hiroshima,which was devastated byan American atomic bombin 1945, the issue ofnuclear non-proliferationtook on specialsignificance at the annualmeeting of the topdiplomats from Britain,

Canada, France, Germany,Italy, Japan and the US

US Secretary of State JohnKerry became the highest-ranking American official tovisit Hiroshima since WorldWar II when the foreignministers visited theHiroshima peace memorialcenotaph to lay flowers forthe victims of the American

atomic bombing in 1945. They issued twostatements on 11 April on non-proliferation,including one dubbed the “Hiroshima Declaration”that calls on other leaders to follow their path toHiroshima. “In this historic meeting, we reaffirmour commitment to seeking a safer world for alland to creating the conditions for a world withoutnuclear weapons,” the statement said. It also saidthe task is made more complex by thedeteriorating security environment in countriessuch as Syria and Ukraine, as well as by NorthKorea’s “repeated provocations.” The Hiroshimadeclaration aims to revitalise the momentum forthe effort toward making a world without nuclearweapons, said Yasuhisa Kawamura, the JapaneseForeign Ministry press secretary.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com, 11 April 2016.

NUCLEAR TERRORISM

BELGIUM

Brussels Attacks Renew Concerns over GlobalNuclear Security

As Belgian authorities continue an expansiveinternational investigationfollowing terrorist attacksin Brussels that killed 32people, new scrutiny isbeing given to securitylapses that have occurredover the years at thecountry’s nuclear facilities.Such concerns had alreadybeen raised in Belgiumfollowing the

Nuclear power plants are not in itselfa security issue, he said. “The risk issafety and in case of sabotage or theftof material, then we have a problem.That’s why we are building up ourcapabilities to understand nuclearsafety and that’s why we participatein conferences like this, because thesecurity part requires internationalcooperation.

They issued two statements on 11 Aprilon non-proliferation, including onedubbed the “Hiroshima Declaration”that calls on other leaders to followtheir path to Hiroshima. “In this historicmeeting, we reaffirm our commitmentto seeking a safer world for all and tocreating the conditions for a worldwithout nuclear weapons,” thestatement said.

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November Paris attacks, when a video retrievedin raids from the home of a suspected IslamicState supporter showed the country’s nuclearresearch program director was being monitoredat his residence.

Belgian officials said the country hasstrengthened protections for its nuclear facilities.They cited an aegis that involved the installationof armed guards and afortified vetting process foremployees of the country’stwo nuclear plants, whichcombined produce roughly60 percent of the country’selectricity. Belgian officialsalso ruled outany link between theIslamic State and anemployee of one of thecountry ’s two main nuclear facilities whowas murdered in March. The claim that thecountry was on a path to improved security wassupported by a report released by HarvardUniversity Belfer Center for Science andInternational Affairs researchers.

he report reads: In December 2014, the Belgiannuclear regulator imposed substantial newrequirements for protection against insiderthreats, including strengthened access controls,deployment of additionalcameras to monitoractivities in key areas ofplants, and new two-person rule requirementsforbidding anyone frombeing alone in specifiedplant area. But the 166-page report also shed newlight on examples ofsecurity issues at Belgiumnuclear facilities, including a 2014 incident of“nuclear sabotage” when someone opened alocked valve and drained a lubricant that causeda reactor to be shut down. A suspect was neverfound in the incident, which cost $100 million torepair. The report also found at least one otherformer employee of a Belgian nuclear facility left

his position to join ISIS in Syria sometime after2012.

Matthew Bunn, a former White House adviser anda Harvard University professor who worked on thereport, said in an interview with the PBS NewsHour that there is still a succession of unansweredquestions about security incidents at Belgianfacilities. “I think they can say ‘we really took

serious action,’” Bunn said.“They also have somethings that are still not fullyexplained.”

In an interview, PageStoutland, vice president ofscientific and technicalaffairs at the NuclearThreat Initiative, anorganization that has

monitored and ranked risks to nuclear sites in 45countries since 2012, said Belgium was on its wayto greater security, but still had a few areas wherethe country isn’t “up to snuff.” “They still haveprocedures to screen employees as insiders thatare really not as comprehensive as other countriesand until very recently they did not have armedguards at the site,” he said. “Belgium was one ofthe roughly half of the countries that do not havecyber security in place.” In Washington D.C. worldleaders met for a Nuclear Security Summit, the

fourth internationalgathering on the topic since2010. Stoutland saiddespite someimprovements tointernational nuclearsecurity protocol since theadvent of President BarackObama’s biannual summits,gaps remain in Belgium andaround the world. “There’s

no question that the momentum is sort of slowingon this agenda,” he said. “There are still sevencountries that don’t have armed guards at nuclearsites, half of the countries have no laws pertainingto cyber security and there’s still a number ofcountries whose quantities of nuclear material aregoing up.”

Belgian officials said the country hasstrengthened protections for itsnuclear facilities. They cited an aegisthat involved the installation of armedguards and a fortified vetting processfor employees of the country’s twonuclear plants, which combinedproduce roughly 60 percent of thecountry’s electricity.

There’s no question that themomentum is sort of slowing on thisagenda,” he said. “There are still sevencountries that don’t have armedguards at nuclear sites, half of thecountries have no laws pertaining tocyber security and there’s still anumber of countries whose quantitiesof nuclear material are going up.

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Speaking at a press conference 8 April, Obamalauded the “coordinated efforts” of the 50 headsof states in attendance, but called for bettersecurity and the removal of fissile material atsome of the roughly 400 nuclear facilities existingaround the world. “Weknow that al Qaida has longsought nuclear materials.Individuals involved in theattacks in Paris andBrussels videotaped asenior manager who worksat a Belgian nuclear facility.ISIL has already usedchemical weapons,including mustard gas, inSyria and Iraq,” he said.“There is no doubt that ifthese madmen ever gottheir hands on a nuclear bomb or nuclear materialthey most certainly would use it to kill as manyinnocent people as possible.”

Source: http://www.pbs.org, 03 April 2016.

GERMANY

Paris Terrorist was Eyeing German NuclearCentre

Salah Abdeslam had documents at his apartmentabout a nuclear research centre at Jülich in NorthRhine-Westphalia, raising concerns for authoritiesabout what he many havebeen planning on Germansoil. The documentsincluded articles printedout from online sourcesabout the research facility,as well as photos of thecentre’s head, WolfgangMarquardt, newspapersunder the publishing groupR e d a k t i o n s n e t z w e r kDeutschland (RND) reported, citing members ofa parliamentary panel.

Abdeslam is currently being held in a Belgianprison, waiting to be deported to France, wherehe will face trial for terrorism offences in

connection with the November 13th Paris attacksthat left 130 dead. The most recent documentswere reportedly found inside of Abdeslam’sapartment where the French national was arrestedlast month in the Molenbeek district of Brussels.

Just days later, threebombs went off in Brusselsin a coordinated terrorattack that killed 32people.

G e r m a n d o m e s t i cintelligence(Verfassungsschutz)President German Hans-Georg Maaßen reportedlyinformed several membersof a Bundestag (GermanParliament) securitycommittee last monthabout the findings. But

according to RND, the Chancellery and the InteriorMinistry declared that they did not have anyinformation about the documents. Similarinformation about the Brussels terroristsmonitoring a Belgian nuclear scientist severalweeks ago fueled speculation that they could havebeen planning to somehow get radioactivematerial for a dirty bomb, perhaps by blackmailingthe researcher. They reportedly spied on theresearcher, including filming him at his home forhours.

Immediately after the Brussels attacks, a Belgiannuclear power plant wasevacuated of all non-essential personnel.Officials were alsoconcerned when it emergedthat two former Belgiannuclear power plantworkers had gone to Syriato fight with Isis, one ofwhom was killed. German

nuclear power plants are extensively protectedagainst the possibility of any interferences orother actions by an outside person, includingterror attacks, according to the GermanEnvironment Ministry. But according toenvironmental NGO BUND, the reactors are not

We know that al Qaida has long soughtnuclear materials. Individuals involvedin the attacks in Paris and Brusselsvideotaped a senior manager whoworks at a Belgian nuclear facility. ISILhas already used chemical weapons,including mustard gas, in Syria andIraq,” he said. “There is no doubt thatif these madmen ever got their handson a nuclear bomb or nuclear materialthey most certainly would use it to killas many innocent people as possible.

Immediately after the Brussels attacks,a Belgian nuclear power plant wasevacuated of all non-essentialpersonnel. Officials were alsoconcerned when it emerged that twoformer Belgian nuclear power plantworkers had gone to Syria to fight withIsis, one of whom was killed.

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sufficiently safe enough against air attacks.

Source: http://www.thelocal.de/20160414/paris-attacks-ringleader-had-records-of-german-nuclear-plant, 14 April 2016.

SAUDI ARABIA

Riyadh Donates $10m for Center to FightNuclear Terror

Saudi Arabia donated on 2 April, 2016, $10 millionto set up a special center to fight nuclear terrorismat the IAEA in Vienna. The Kingdom also donated500,000 euros for themodernization of theagency’s laboratories inSeibersdorf. Saudi Arabia isone of the first countries tosupport internationalresolutions on nuclearsafety, giving priority to theissue of developing andimproving infrastructure. This was stated in aspeech delivered by Dr. Hashim bin AbdullahYamani, chairman of the King Abdullah City forAtomic and Renewable Energy, and head of theSaudi delegation at the 4th Nuclear Safety Summitheld in Washington. He said: “The Kingdom is oneof the first countries to have supportedinternational resolutionsrelated to nuclear safety.

The K ingdom has alsoapproved the Convention ofPhysical Protection ofNuclear Material, andsupported initiatives in thefight against nuclearterrorism. It is part of theinternational treaty to eradicate nuclear terrorism.”Dr. Yamani said that the Kingdom has always beenactively and positively ready in most ofinternational activities related to nuclear safetysince the first summit was held in Washington,D.C., in 2010...has made it a priority to supportdevelopment of infrastructure related to nuclearsafety by understanding the integration betweennuclear safety, security and work on the inclusionof nuclear security as one of the components of

the nuclear supervision board being set up in theKingdom...will continue to activate the strategicpartnership with the Nuclear and Radiation SafetyAuthority in Finland to give necessary support toregulate the nuclear energy sector in the Kingdomand development of the human resources requiredfor setting up the independent national authorityfor nuclear supervision. He said that at theinternational level, the Kingdom has supportedinternational activities in the area of nuclearsafety.

In 2014, it announced a donation of $100 millionto set up an anti-terrorismcenter at the UnitedNations. “I urge all tosupport and strengthen thetechnical and humanpossibilities of theInternational AtomicEnergy Commission bysetting up of a special

center to fight against nuclear terrorism in Vienna.On the occasion, I am announcing that theKingdom is giving an amount of $10 million to setup the center. At the same time, I am happy toannounce the support of the Kingdom for themodernization of the laboratories of the agency

in Seibersdorf with anamount of 500,000 euros,”said Yamani. Dr. Yamanisaid that the Kingdom hasalready announced itsintention to develop anuclear program to usenuclear energy for peacefulpurposes to achieve theobjective of sustainabledevelopment. While doing

this, the Kingdom is complying with allrequirements for nuclear safety. For the purposethe Kingdom is committed to developing a nationalsystem for monitoring and control of nuclear andradiological material. It will also make efforts todevelop customs and border guarding system toprevent illegal trade of dangerous materials.

Source: http://www.arabnews.com/, 03 April2016.

Saudi Arabia donated on 2 April, 2016,$10 million to set up a special centerto fight nuclear terrorism at the IAEAin Vienna. The Kingdom also donated500,000 euros for the modernizationof the agency’s laboratories inSeibersdorf.

I urge all to support and strengthen thetechnical and human possibilities of theInternational Atomic Energy Commissionby setting up of a special center to fightagainst nuclear terrorism in Vienna. Onthe occasion, I am announcing that theKingdom is giving an amount of $10million to set up the center.

Vol 10, No. 12, 15 APRIL 2016 PAGE - 29


URANIUM PRODUCTION

GENERAL

Is Uranium the New Gold?

Energy metals are garnering much investorattention and one analyst familiar to the spaceremains optimistic. Commenting on uraniumprices, which have yet to move higher, Chris Berryof House Mountain Partners said he still sees acase for the metal. ‘In the wake of recent climateagreements, countries loosely agree todecarbonize their energy source and uranium isgoing to have to play a significant role in that mix,’he told Kitco News.

‘In the next 18-24 months, you can see uraniumprices 30% higher from where they are today.’Berry is also optimistic on lithium, although headvises investors toremain cautious over theshorter term. ‘The price hasabsolutely gone parabolicand from my experience inenergy metals, any timeyou see prices goparabolic, it usually ends intears,’ he says. ‘So youwant to be careful…it’s a good long-term storybut it’s been on a huge run over the few months.’…

Source: http://www.uranium-stocks.net/home/is-uranium-the-new-gold.html, 13 April 2016.

NUCLEAR WASTE MANAGEMENT

CANADA

NWMO Says Managing Used Nuclear Fuel is anEthical Issue, Not Spatial

With an updated project description for itsunderground used nuclear fuel facility, Canada’sNuclear Waste Management Organization(NWMO) is working on the ethical dilemmanuclear disposal poses to the country. “From avolume perspective it is not something that is abig problem,” said NWMO communications

manager Mike Krizanc. “... We have an ethicalresponsibility to deal with the waste we haveproduced.” Each year Canada’s nuclear powerplants produce 90,000 used nuclear fuel bundlesin the process of creating nuclear-basedelectricity.

Once depleted of usable energy, these uraniumfuel bundles, which remain highly radioactive formillions of years, are cooled in pools for a decadebefore being procedurally packed in dry storagecanisters. These canisters are then lined inwarehouses, vaults or silos at the nation’s CANDUreactor sites located in Ontario, New Brunswickand Quebec. At the Bruce nuclear site, whichhouses 60 per cent of Canada’s used nuclear fuelbundles at Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG)Western Waste Management Facility (WWMF),the warehouse is expected to reach capacity by

2020.

However, more warehousescan be erected, Krizanc said.“There’s no way anybody isrunning out of any kind ofroom to keep these,”Krizanc said, explaining thatthe entirety of the nation’s

nuclear fuel bundles stacked like cordwood wouldfill only seven hockey rinks to the top of theboards. The problem, Krizanc said, is not one ofspace, but of ethics and it is the responsibility ofthe generation that reaps the benefits of nuclearpower to cover the costs. In 1998 after years ofstudy, the federal government approved a plan tobury all 4.4 million used nuclear fuel bundles thatCanada’s power plants will produce during theirlife expectancy hundreds of meters underground.Though studies have shown the repository to betechnically safe, low public acceptance of the planhad prevented it from moving forward causing thefederal government to found the NWMO in 2002.Since then, the NWMO has been working to finda suitable host community for the used fuelthrough public consultations.

Nine sites including Huron-Kinloss, South Bruce

At the Bruce nuclear site, whichhouses 60 per cent of Canada’s usednuclear fuel bundles at Ontario PowerGeneration’s (OPG) Western WasteManagement Facility (WWMF), thewarehouse is expected to reachcapacity by 2020.

Vol 10, No. 12, 15 APRIL 2016 PAGE - 30


and Central Huron are currently being sized forthe NWMO’s deep geological repository for usednuclear fuel. This number was whittled down froman original 21 interestedcities. Some anti-nuclearactivists andenvironmentalists criticizethe project as unsafe andunethical. However, theNWMO rejects this attitudeas obstructionist, statingthe nuclear waste thatalready exists must bedealt with professionallyand responsibly. Leaving thebundles on the Earth’ssurface, Krizanc said, “is basically driven by peoplewho are opposed to nuclear power who want tobe able to argue there is no plan for the waste.[The NWMO] is not here to promote or penalizenuclear power,” he said. “… We’re here becausethe used fuel exists and regardless of the decisionsthat are made it has to be managed.”

Over breakfast April 4, the NWMO’s vice presidentof design and construction Derek Wilson toldKincardine News that theyhave recently released anupdated projectdescription. First publishedand publicized in 2011, theproject was modeledprimarily from Swedish andFinnish designs. The latestplan has been tailored toCanada’s CANDU reactors,which use fuel bundlesthree-quarters the size and weight of theScandinavian bundles. “So what we’ve looked atis optimizing our container design for CANDU[used nuclear] fuel,” he said. And this containerof steel and copper has “greatly influenced” theproject’s entire design, he said, causing Wilsonand his team to model a multi-layered barriersystem to contain the dangerous bundles.

With this new multi-barrier containment system

the used nuclear fuel bundles are encased in thecopper-coated steel canisters, which are thenpacked in bentonite clay blocks. This entire

process is done aboveground at the site’sprocessing plant before thebundle is shuttledapproximately 500 metersbelow the earth where it isthen buried in channels cutinto the sedimentary rock.It is then packed into placewith more of this clay,which expands when itcomes into contact withwater. The multi-barrier

system won Chris Hatton, NWMO president ofdesign and construction, the 2015 InnovativeAchievement Award, which was the first time thehonour had been handed out since 2012. Thelayout of the repository will cover 340 hectares,or a roughly 3km by 2km square footprintunderground. Its life-cycle costs will be publishedin the near future, WIlson said, and testing of thecontainers is now in its third year.

Meanwhile the NWMO hasdivided site selectionprocess into nine stepswith the final step beingthe start of construction.The project is currently atthe third phase of step two,preliminary assessment,which Krizanc said NWMOhopes to complete by 2023.The preferred site will be

identified in step six....No bore holes have yet beendrilled to examine the host rock of any of the vyingnine communities.

The NWMO is currently planning to drill, but notfor at least a year. “We will only move forwardwith this project if it will contribute to the long-term well being of the community,” said Krizanc.And it’s for the community to decide what thatmeans, he said. “If you go out and ask people

With this new multi-barriercontainment system the used nuclearfuel bundles are encased in the copper-coated steel canisters, which are thenpacked in bentonite clay blocks. Thisentire process is done above ground atthe site’s processing plant before thebundle is shuttled approximately 500meters below the earth where it is thenburied in channels cut into thesedimentary rock.

We have a responsibility. We can’tleave this at the surface forever andever. We have a responsibility becausewe don’t know what society is goingto be like in 10,000 years, 5,000 yearsfrom now. And we can’t expect futuregenerations to continually pay andlook after this used nuclear fuel,” hesaid.

Vol 10, No. 12, 15 APRIL 2016 PAGE - 31


who don’t have an axe to grind they will tell youwe have a responsibility. We can’t leave this forour children and grandchildren,” he said. “Wehave a responsibility. We can’t leave this at thesurface forever and ever. We have a responsibilitybecause we don’t know what society is going tobe like in 10,000 years, 5,000 years from now. Andwe can’t expect future generations to continuallypay and look after this used nuclear fuel,” he said.

Source: http://www.kincardinenews.com, 10 April2016.

SWEDEN

Nuclear Waste Ship MV Sigrid Runs Agroundin Sweden

A Swedish cargo ship designed to haul radioactivewaste ran into a little trouble on 8th April, 2016,outside the harbor of a decommissioned nuclearpower plant in southeastern Sweden. The SwedishMaritime Administration confirmed that theMV Sigrid had a pilot on board when it ran agroundat about 8 a.m. as it approached the Barsebäcknuclear power plant. The ship was not carryingany dangerous cargo, the administration and theship’s owner confirmed.Wind at the time was about10 to 12 knots. A tugboat,two coast guard vesselsand a ship inspector fromthe Swedish TransportAgency were sent to assistthe vessel, confirming thatno oil was leaking from theship. By noon, a tug wasable to free the Sigrid andpull it into deeper water.Within a few hours, divers were able to confirmthat there was no damage to ship’s hull orpropellers.

The cause of the grounding is under investigation.The nuclear cargo vessel MV Sigrid was deliveredin 2013 by Damen’s Galati Shipyard in Romania tothe Swedish Nuclear Waste ManagementCompany (SKB). The ship was designed to

transport radioactive material from Swedishnuclear power plants to SKB’s facilities inOskarshamn and Forsmark. The vessel cantransport up to 12 nuclear waste containers, aswell as standard cargo containers or specialtrucks. The Barsebäck Nuclear Power Plant hastwo reactors that havebeen decommissioned since 1999 and 2005,respectively.

Source: http://gcaptain.com, 08 April 2016.

USA

Court Awards Maine Yankee $24.6 Million toPay for Storing Radioactive Waste

The owners of Maine Yankee have been awardednearly $25 million in their latest lawsuit againstthe federal government for its failure to removespent nuclear fuel from the site of the formernuclear power plant in Wiscasset. In a decisionissued on 7 April 2016, US Court of Federal ClaimsJudge James H. Merow also awarded damages tothe owners of closed Yankee nuclear power plantsin Connecticut and Massachusetts, ruling that thefederal government hasn’t fulfilled its contractual

obligation to remove spentfuel from those sites aswell.

The owners of MaineYankee are due $24.6million, the owners of theConnecticut plant wereawarded $32.6 million andthe owners of theMassachusetts plant wereawarded $19.6 million. The

lawsuit covers the period from 2009 to 2012. Thefederal government has 60 days to appeal theruling. Maine Yankee uses the money from theawards to maintain the Wiscasset site, where 60cannisters of spent fuel and four cannisters ofirradiated steel are stored. The plant was shutdown in 1997 and the federal government wassupposed to start removing spent fuel in 1998,but Congress has never been able to agree on

A Swedish cargo ship designed to haulradioactive waste ran into a littletrouble on 8th April, 2016, outside theharbor of a decommissioned nuclearpower plant in southeastern Sweden.The Swedish Maritime Administrationconfirmed that the MV Sigrid had apilot on board when it ran aground atabout 8 a.m. as it approached theBarsebäck nuclear power plant.

Vol 10, No. 12, 15 APRIL 2016 PAGE - 32


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Editorial Team: Hina Pandey, Arjun Subramanian P, Chandra Rekha, Manisha Chaurasiya, Deep Jyoti BarmanComposed by: CAPSDisclaimer: Information and data included in this newsletter is for educational non-commercial purpo ses onlyand has been carefully adapted, excerpted or edited from sources deemed reliable and accurate at t he time ofpreparation. The Centre does not accept any liability for error therein. All copyrighted material belongs to respectiveowners and is provided only for purposes of wider dissemination.

where to locate a facility to store the spentradioactive fuel.

The award is the third for the three Yankee nuclearplants, which share some ownership andmanagement but are separate companies, saidEric Howes, director of public and governmentaffairs for Maine Yankee. In the past two lawsuits,Maine Yankee was awarded a total of $117.5million in damages. The government appealed thefirst ruling, Howes said, but didn’t appeal thesecond...it costs about $10 million a year to storethe waste in Wiscasset. He said he expects theowners of Maine Yankee, which include Central

Maine Power and Emera Energy in Maine, to fileanother lawsuit to recover damages for the periodsince 2013...the periodic damage awards meanthat Mane Yankee has not needed ratepayermoney to operate the site...the utilities support aproposal to set up a pilot program to remove thefuel from the former nuclear plant sites to aninterim storage facility until Congress establishesa permanent storage site. That plan is pending inCongress.

Source: http://www.pressherald.com, 08 April2016.

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