An evolving U.S. national policy aims to create a system of nuclear forensics, in which scientific analysis could quickly identify the source of a nuclear attack or attempted attack.
A nuclear device assembled by terrorists is likely to have a "relatively low yield," much smaller than the 10-kiloton weapon dropped on Hiroshima at the end of World War II, according to the chief nuclear scientist with the U.S. Homeland Security Department. Nevertheless, even a small nuclear explosion would probably be viewed as a "success" by any nonstate actor.
With construction of many new nuclear reactors under discussion, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is grappling with the question of whether they should be designed to withstand a Sept. 11 style airplane attack.
Adequate planning for the aftermath of an act of nuclear terrorism could save hundreds of thousands of lives, but nearly five years after the attacks of Sept. 11 those contingency plans still do not exist, according to a report released last week by the Physicians for Social Responsibility.
The interagency network responsible for defending the United States against nuclear terrorism is compiling a global database of nuclear "fingerprints" in an effort to trace fissile material to a source in the event of a nuclear attack.
President Bush and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia announced a new global program to track potential nuclear terrorists, detect and lock up bomb-making materials and coordinate their responses if terrorists obtain a weapon, according to administration officials who have negotiated the deal.
One-third of the world's 130 civilian nuclear research reactors lack security upgrades needed to prevent theft of materials that terrorists could use to build an atomic bomb, the chief U.S. nuclear proliferation official says.
The Bush administration's plan to deploy a high-tech fuel to power a new generation of nuclear reactors worldwide has a potentially explosive problem: It is too easy for terrorists to grab and turn it into a nuclear bomb.
Graham Allison argues that the United States needs to establish "a robust nuclear forensics program" in order to ensure effective deterrence against nuclear terrorism.
A chilling look at the effect a low-yield, "Hiroshima"-class nuclear explosion in downtown Washington, D.C. would have on the United States.