Nuclear Nonproliferation: Status of U.S. Efforts to Improve Nuclear Material Controls in Newly Independent States

Abstract

Safeguarding nuclear material that can be used directly in nuclear explosives has become a primary national security concern for the United States and the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union. Terrorists and countries seeking nuclear weapons could use as little as 25 kilograms of highly enriched uranium (HEU) or 8 kilograms of plutonium to build a nuclear explosive. The seizure of HEU and plutonium in Europe and Russia has prompted concerns about how the newly independent stated control their direct-use materials. The Ranking Minority Member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, and the Chairman and Ranking Minority Member of the House Committee on National Security requested that GAO review U.S. efforts to help the newly independent states strengthen their nuclear material controls. GAO'S report addresses (1) the nature and extent of problems with controlling direct-use nuclear materials in the newly independent states; (2) the status and future prospects of U.S. efforts to help strengthen controls in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakstan, and Belarus; and (3) the executive branch's consolidation of U.S. efforts in the Department of Energy (DOE). The scope of GAO'S review included direct-use nuclear material controlled by civilian authorities in the newly independent states and direct-use material used for naval nuclear propulsion purposes. GAO did not review the protection, control, and accounting systems used for nuclear weapons in the possession of the Ministry of Defense in Russia. U.S. officials believe there to be relatively better controls over weapons in the custody of the Ministry of Defense than over material outside of weapons. GAO recently issued a report that addressed the safety of nuclear facilities in the newly independent states.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 1996
Accession Number
ADA344804

Entities

People

  • Charles T. Bolton
  • F. J. Shafer
  • Gene Aloise
  • Julie Hirshen
  • Mary Alice A. Hayward

Organizations

  • United States Government Accountability Office

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter WMD
  • Cyber
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Control Systems
  • Department Of Defense
  • Department Of State
  • Detection
  • Detectors
  • Fabrication
  • Governments
  • Marine Nuclear Propulsion
  • Measuring Instruments
  • Nuclear Energy
  • Nuclear Fuels
  • Nuclear Materials
  • Nuclear Weapons
  • Processing Equipment
  • Research Facilities
  • United States
  • Ussr

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • East Asian Political and Security Studies within the Soviet Union
  • Nuclear Non-Proliferation and International Security