Nuclear Security?Increased International and National Efforts

The events of 9/11 have been referred to by the IAEA director general as a ?wake-up call? to states to work toward effective protection of nuclear and radioactive materials. In considering the present situation, we have looked into open information sources also to recall some past events. A notable past event took place in November 1972, when three armed men hijacked a DC-9 in the United States, demanded ransom and enhanced the threat pressure by ordering the pilot to crash the plane into the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Fortunately, the threat was not carried through. In 1982, a missile was fired against the Super-Phoenix reactor in France and many other reports are available on threats to nuclear power plants. Reports also document threats of dispersal of radioactive materials. One example is from 1995 when Chechens placed a cesium- 137 source in a public park in Moscow. Further examples are the threat to damage the Lucas