RAISING GLOBAL PHYSICAL PROTECTION STANDARDS FOR WEAPON-USABLE NUCLEAR MATERIAL

Preventing access by outlaw states, terrorists or thieves to plutonium or highly enriched uranium, the key components for nuclear weapons, is an essential purpose of physical protection. Yet practices for protection of weapon-usable materials vary widely from country to country. Reasons described in Stanford research include differences in country perceptions of the threats to their materials, differences in ability to pay the cost of stronger physical protection, differences in laws and regulatory practices, and differences in cultural attitudes -- including whether to arm guards or vet personnel. This paper will discuss these differences and recent efforts to establish higher international standards for physical protection. The U.S. Department of Energy concluded in 1997 that the ultimate goal for protecting weapons-useable material should be the standard used by the U.S. to protect its nuclear weapons, the “stored weapons standard.” That would mean that the guardians of several kilograms of stored plutonium would have to be prepared to protect it from a violent attacking group using guns and vehicles (even a helicopter), a group who were assisted by an insider who knew how the material was protected. Not much weapon-usable material is yet so protected either in the US or the rest of the world. In 1998-99, country experts at IAEA meetings agreed to strengthen M A re commended physical protection standards, but not to the level of the U.S. “stored weapons standard.” In late 1999, the parties to the international Convention on Physical Protection considered revising its requirements to make them applicable to domestic transport and storage of nuclear materials, and to incorporate the IAEA recommended standards. However, they put off any decision on revision for 18 months or more while further studies were made. Meanwhile, drafters at the UN had agreed to propose that a draft treaty on nuclear terrorism suggest that parties follow IAEA recommendations for physical protection. Each of these attempts to raise standards will be discussed. IAEA recommendations are becoming the international standard for physical protection, but many variations in practices continue.