New IAEA Security Series Document

The International Atomic Energy Agency has released its Nuclear Security Series No. 15 document, entitled "Nuclear Security Recommendations on Nuclear and Other Radioactive Material out of Regulatory Controls," which is a euphemism for missing or stolen material. The document was produced jointly with several international organizations, including EUROPOL, ICAO, ICPO-INTERPOL, UNICRI, UNODC, and WCO. Nuclear security culture is an underpinning element, recommended at all levels of ensuring nuclear and radioactive material security, including prevention, detection and response, and mitigation. Full document is available here.

CITS Hosts Nuclear Security Culture Panel in Washington D.C.

The Center for International Trade & Security hosted a panel discussion entitled "The Human Dimension of Nuclear Security" immediately following the 2011 Carnegie International Nuclear Policy Conference in Washington D.C. The event took place Wednesday, March 30th from 9:00am - 12:00pm at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Panelists included Laura Holgate from the National Security Council, Charles Ferguson from the Federation of American Scientists, Roger Howsley from the World Institute of Nuclear Security, Jean Jalouneix from the Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire, Mary Alice Hayward from Areva USA, and Kara De Castro from the NNSA. Panel transcript is available here.

U.S. National Security Advisor Thomas Donilon on Security Culture

“But nuclear security is more than about protecting material with guards, guns, and gates. It also means addressing the human element by establishing a security culture and training programs for the personnel responsible for protecting nuclear materials. Since the Washington summit, we have signed agreements with Japan, China, South Korea, and India to establish and work together at regional “Centers of Excellence” to provide training and education for nuclear security officials. During the President’s recent trip, Brazil agreed to consider establishing a similar regional center for Latin America. Other training facilities are being established in Italy, Kazakhstan and Algeria. [emphasis added]

Nuclear security requires funding, but it is money well spent. For its part, the Obama Administration has committed an additional $10 billion to the Global Partnership to help countries pay for nuclear and biosecurity upgrades. In this respect, I want to emphasize the President’s commitment to securing adequate funding for the U.S. nuclear security and nonproliferation programs in the FY 2011 and FY2012 budgets. Even in these difficult financial times, we cannot afford to skimp on essential national security needs.”

Read entire speech from the 2011 Carnegie International Nuclear Policy Conference here.