• NUCLEAR FORENSICSNuclear Forensics International Group Anniversary Meeting at Livermore

    After a little more than 25 years, the Nuclear Forensics International Technical Working Group (ITWG) is returning to its roots in Livermore, California. Founded in 1995 in a meeting at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), the ITWG met in Europe for 24 straight years from 1996 through 2019.

  • NUCLEAR SOURCESRadioactive Sources: Discussing Safety and Security

    Today, radioactive sources are used in many areas including energy, medicine, industry, food and agriculture, research, and in environmental monitoring and protection. “Radioactive sources are all around us, offering immense societal and economic benefits, but they may also pose a risk. Managing these sources well, protects us from accidental radiation exposure and keeps them away from people with malicious intent,” said IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi.

  • NUCLEAR WASTEThe Future of Nuclear Waste: What’s the Plan and Can It Be Safe?

    By Lewis Blackburn

    The UK is planning to significantly expand its nuclear capability — from approximately 8 gigawatts (GW) today to 24GW by 2050, which would meet around 25% of the forecast UK energy demand — in an effort to decrease its reliance on carbon-based fossil fuels. New reactors will inevitably mean more radioactive waste. Above-ground nuclear waste storage isn’t a feasible long term plan. What are the alternatives?

  • ARGUMENT: IRAN’S NUKESTo Check Iran’s Missiles, JCPOA Re-Entry is a Must

    Iran’s missile program is a cause for international concern. John Krzyzaniak and Akshai Vikram write that Iran’s increasing willingness and ability to launch missiles at neighboring countries merits a coordinated, international response. If Iran were to ever acquire a nuclear weapon, its unchecked missile program could allow it to hold entire cities at risk in the Middle East and potentially beyond. “If the United States is ever going to restrict Iran’s missile program through diplomacy, re-entering the 2015 Iran nuclear deal is the best – and likely only – way to make it happen,” they write.

  • NUCLEAR WASTERComparing Geologic Repository Assessment Tools

    A computer modeling system is designed to answer critical safety assessment questions about future disposal options for spent nuclear fuel deep underground and the system of tunnels, containers and possible concrete-like barriers used to keep the radioactive material contained far from the surface and water sources.

  • NUCLEAR SAFETYRisks of an Unfamiliar New Nuclear Age

    High-tech advances in weapons technologies and a return of ‘great power nuclear politics’, risk the world ‘sleepwalking’ into a nuclear age vastly different from the established order of the Cold War, experts warn. Stockpiles are much reduced from the peak of up to 70,000 nuclear weapons seen in the 1980s, but progress in a number of new or ‘disruptive’ technologies threatens to fundamentally change the central pillars on which nuclear order, stability and risk reduction are based.

  • RADIATION RISKSNew Treatment Removes Radioactive Barium from Nuclear Wastewater

    Exposure to ionizing radiation can be extremely dangerous for humans and animals. High acute doses lead to radiation burns and radiation sickness that can be lethal. Researchers havedeveloped a new process that offers a rapid and effective path to remove some of the most harmful of these ions – barium.

  • DIRTY BOMBSRisks of a Dirty Bomb Attack Are Increasing

    In a new factsheet, the GAO says that the risks of a dirty bomb attack are increasing and the consequences could be devastating.

  • IRAN NUKESIran Vows to Continue Nuclear Activities

    Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has said Iran will continue nuclear development activities as talks to revive Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers remain stalled. The nuclear deal collapsed four years ago when former President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the agreement, allowing Iran to vastly expanded its nuclear work.

  • FOOD SECURITYFood Security During a Nuclear Winter

    A nuclear war would cause global blockage of the sun for several years due to injections of black carbon soot into the upper atmosphere, covering most of the planet with black clouds. This could result in less than 40 percent of normal light levels near the equator and less than 5 percent normal light levels near the poles. Research focuses on how meeting food security and nutrition in post-catastrophe conditions, which could last 15 years in some wet tropical forests.

  • NUCLEAR RISKSCan Ukraine Be Saved Without Triggering a Nuclear Response?

    By Brendan Nicholson

    Worries about the war in Ukraine are deepened by the prospect that if, against the odds, Russian forces are brought to the point of defeat, Putin will launch a ‘battlefield’ or ‘tactical’ nuclear weapon to destroy the forces opposing the Russian military, and, perhaps, even attack military bases inside neighboring countries – some are NATO member states – which provide supplies to the resistance.

  • RADIATION RISKSWhat Are the Risks at the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant?

    By Ajit Niranjan

    Threat of a nuclear catastrophe is low. But experts fear for safety of workers who have been unable to rotate off shift. Communications with the site are down and electricity has reportedly been lost.

  • NUCLEAR THREATSRussian Attack on, Takeover of Ukraine Plant Ramps Up Nuclear Threat

    By Christina Pazzanese

    Russia’s attack last Friday on a nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine has heightened concerns of a nuclear catastrophe in the region, and not only as a result of unintended leaks or possible future attacks on Ukraine’s three remaining nuclear plants. Statements by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have further deepened worries that Russia may seek to turn material in captured reactors into “dirty bombs.”

  • NUCLEAR RISKSThe Dangers Following Russia’s Attack on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant

    By Ross Peel

    Following recent news of Russian shelling of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, which is the largest in Europe, there is great concern over the potential for a Chernobyl-esque release of radioactive material. Several security personnel at the plant were injured by the attack.

  • PANDEMIC & NUCLEAR SAFETYExploring the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Nuclear Security

    A new study examines measures put in place in the nuclear sector in the U.K. to mitigate risks from the pandemic. The study identifies a series of lessons learnt in maintaining nuclear security. It also provides recommendations for managing the continuing impact of the pandemic and preparing for future crises.