FBI Nuclear Counter Terrorism Program

Mr. Bernie Bogdan, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), gave a presentation on the FBI’s Nuclear Program. The criminal jurisdiction for the FBI Nuclear Program is outlined in three main legal vehicles; the Atomic Energy Act, 18 USC Section 831, and 18 USC Section 2332a (WMD statute). The Atomic Energy Act (AEA) addresses criminal and civil (licensing) violations. Most violations involve Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing regulations, missing classified documents, leaks of classified documents or information to the media, and espionage and sabotage. Mr. Bogdan discussed potential nuclear targets to include Department of Defense (DoD) facilities (nuclear weapons storage sites and deployed warheads), Department of Energy (DOE) facilities (nuclear weapon production/dismantlement facilities, special nuclear material production facilities), and facilities with significant amounts of SNM), and commercial facilities liscensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) (power and research reactors, nuclear fuel cycle facilities with enriched uranium). He outlined the FBI’s strategy for nuclear material trafficking. The goal of the program is to prevent acquisition of nuclear materials by terrorists by aggressively investigating all allegations of smuggling, assisting foreign law enforcement, limiting the potential for creating a market for nuclear material, and the prompt reporting of all incidents for national level dissemination.