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22.812J | Spring 2004 | Graduate

# Managing Nuclear Technology

This broad collection of resources was compiled and offered by the instructor to his students.

### Table of Contents

- Supplemental Readings
  - Russian Nuclear Material Security
  - The Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime
  - International Safeguards
  - Export Controls
  - The Disposal of Spent Fuel and High Level Waste - Technical Considerations
  - Regulating High Level Waste Disposal
  - Risk Management and Risk Perceptions
- Nonproliferation Resources (Session #16)
  - General Nuclear Proliferation
  - IAEA Safeguards
  - Export Controls
- Nonproliferation and Energy Resources (Session #17)
  - Nuclear Terrorism Risks
  - The Debate over the Dangers Posed by Sabotage of Spent Fuel Pools, and Possible Resulting Fires
  - Nonproliferation Careers for Nuclear Engineers (Session #17)

### Supplemental Readings

Russian Nuclear Material Security

Bunn, Matthew. The Next Wave: Urgently Needed New Steps to Control Warheads and Fissile Material. Washington, DC and Cambridge, MA: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, March 2000.
A paper by Matthew Bunn, Harvard University Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.

Bunn, Matthew, Oleg Bukharin, and Kenneth N. Luongo_._ Renewing the Partnership: Recommendations for Accelerated Action to Secure Nuclear Material in the Former Soviet Union. Princeton, NJ: Russian American Nuclear Security Advisory Council, August 2000.
A report specifically on how to strengthen the program to improve security and accounting of nuclear material in Russia.

“A Report Card on the Department of Energy’s Nonproliferation Programs with Russia.” Secretary of Energy Advisory Board, January 10, 2001 (approved by the SEAB on January 18, 2001). (PDF)
The recent report on DOE’s Russia nonproliferation programs by a task force of the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (which recommends a $30B 10-year effort to address the security risks).

Bunn, Matthew, and John P. Holdren. “Managing Military Uranium and Plutonium in the United States and the Former Soviet Union.” Annual Review of Energy and the Environment 22 (1997): 403-486.
The opening sections (pp. 403-419) of this chapter by Matthew Bunn and John Holdren in Annual Review of Energy and the Environment provide a discussion of which isotopes are weapons-usable, the reactor-grade vs. weapon-grade issue, how much Pu and HEU are needed for a bomb, how much of these materials exists in the world, etc.

Holdren, John P. “Non-Proliferation Aspects of Geologic Repositories.” Presented at the International Conference on Geologic Repositories, held October 31 - November 3, 1999, in Denver, CO. Presented November 1, 1999. Department of Energy, 1999.
John Holdren’s recent talk on proliferation hazards of plutonium when reprocessed, and when disposed of in geologic repositories.

Neff, Thomas L. “Privatizing U.S. National Security: The U.S.-Russian HEU Deal at Risk.” Arms Control Today. Arms Control Association, August/September 1998.
Tom Neff’s 1998 article contains an interesting (though difficult, if you don’t know any of the background) account of how the United States messed up the most seemingly simple and elegant of the initiates – the purchase of HEU from dismantled weapons.

Jones, Rodney W. and Mark G. McDonough with Toby Dalton and Gregory Koblentz**.** “Tracking Nuclear Proliferation: A Guide in Maps and Charts, 1998.” Non-Proliferation Project. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
The latest edition (1998) is useful.

The Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime

“The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons: A Global Success.” Released by the Bureau of Nonproliferation, U.S. Department of State, May 2000.
A fact sheet from the State Department touting the virtues of the Nonproliferation Treaty, including the text of the treaty and a summary of key provisions.

Rauf, Tariq. “Successes of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Regime .” Monterey Institute of International Studies.
Another paper on the success of the regime by Tariq Rauf, Center for Nonproliferation Studies.

Proliferation News and Resources. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
This website offers a variety of resources on news and issues related to nonproliferation.

International Safeguards

U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment. “Nuclear Safeguards and the International Atomic Energy Agency.“OTA-ISS-615 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, June 1995). (PDF - 1.9 MB)
This Office of Technology Assessment report is the best short introduction to international safeguards. It includes an Executive Summary and a good appendix specifically on safeguarding reprocessing plants.

IAEA: Safeguards and Physical Protection . Worldatom. International Atomic Energy Agency.
The IAEA’s website on its safeguards program.

Domestic Safeguards/Security for Nuclear Material

“Security of Material.” Annual Report 2003. (PDF)
Excerpts from the IAEA 2003 Annual Report.

“Physical Protection of Nuclear Material.” Protection of Material. International Atomic Energy Agency.
The IAEA’s page on this topic has some useful information.

Export Controls

U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment_._ “Export Controls and Nonproliferation Policy.” OTA- ISS-596 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, May 1994). (PDF - 1.2 MB)
Here, too, the Office of Technology Assessment provides a good summary report.

The Disposal of Spent Fuel and High Level Waste - Technical Considerations

Krauskopf, Konrad. “Disposal of High Level Nuclear Waste: Is it Possible?” Science 14 (September 1990): 1231-1232.

Whipple, Chris. “Can Nuclear Waste Be Stored Safely at Yucca Mountain?” Scientific American (June 1996): 72 et seq.

“Repository Safety Strategy: U.S. Department of Energy’s Strategy to Protect Public Health and Safety After Closure of a Yucca Mountain Repository.” U.S. Department of Energy (January 1998): (Revision 1).

Regulating High Level Waste Disposal

Breyer, Stephen. Breaking the Vicious Circle: Toward Effective Risk Regulation. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, 1993. ISBN: 9780674081147.

Risk Management and Risk Perceptions

Eichenwald, Kurt, Gina Kolata, and Melody Petersen. “Biotechnology Food: From the Lab to a Debacle.” New York Times, January 25, 2001.

Hohenemser, C., R. W. Kates, and P. Slovic. “The Nature of Technological Hazard.” Science 220 (April 22, 1983): 378-384.

National Research Council. Improving Risk Communication. Washington D.C.: National Academy Press, 1989. ISBN: 9780309039437.

Peters, Ellen, and Paul Slovic. “The Role of Affect and Worldviews as Orienting Dispositions in the Perception and Acceptance of Nuclear Power.” Journal of Applied Social Psychology 26, no. 16 (1996): 1427-1453.

Rosa, Eugene A., and Riley E. Dunlap. “Poll Trends: Nuclear Power – Three Decades of Public Opinion.” Public Opinion Quarterly 58, no. 2 (Summer 1994): 295-324.

Slovic, Paul, James H. Flynn, and Mark Layman. “Perceived Risk, Trust, and the Politics of Nuclear Waste.” Science 254 (December 13, 1991): 1603-1607.

Slovic, Paul, Baruch Fischhoff, and Sarah Lichtenstein. “Facts versus Fears: Understanding Perceived Risk.” In Judgement under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases. Edited by Daniel Kahneman, et al. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1982. ISBN: 9780521284141.

Weart, Spencer R. Nuclear Fear: A History of Images. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1989. ISBN: 9780674628366.

### Nonproliferation Resources (Session #16)

General Nuclear Proliferation

Proliferation News and Resources_._ Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Probably the world’s best website for information on nuclear proliferation, including a large number of government documents as well as non-government analyses.

Nuclear Threat Initiative
A website packed with data, much of it provided by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies.

Institute for Science and International Security
Some of the best available non-government technical analyses of proliferation issues come from David Albright and his Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS).

IAEA Safeguards

International Atomic Energy Agency
A huge amount of information - though some of it isn’t easy to find.

“IAEA Safeguards: Stemming the Spread of Nuclear Weapons.” International Atomic Energy Agency Information Series. International Atomic Energy Agency. Division of Public Information. (PDF)
A recent IAEA pamphlet describing the safeguards system.

“Challenges to the IAEA’s System of Safeguards.” ( PDF)
A recent IAEA briefing on their perception of the challenges to the safeguards system.

Export Controls

Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS). “Roadmap to Responsible Export Controls: Learning from the Past.”
Put together by ISIS, this site includes some interesting case studies of illicit exports, and a description of the most important elements of an effective export control system.

Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)
The official website of the Nuclear Suppliers Group provides the full text of their export guidelines.

Center for International Trade and Security. School of Public and International Affairs. University of Georgia.
This center at the University of Georgia does some of the most in-depth non-government work on export controls anywhere in the world, and posts a large number of useful publications and analyses.

### Nonproliferation and Energy Resources (Session #17)

“President Announces New Measures to Counter the Threat of WMD.” The White House. (Remarks by the President on Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation. National Defense University, Washington, DC White House.)
President Bush’s speech on February 11, 2004, outlining his nonproliferation policy.

International Topical Workshop on “Proliferation-Resistance in Innovative Reactors and Fuel Cycles”. (PDF - 1.7MB) International Atomic Energy Agency. Landau Network – Centro Volta. Council Room of the Municipality of Como, Italy, July 2-6, 2001.
Papers from a recent conference on proliferation-resistance.

Feiveson, Harold. “The Search for Proliferation-Resistant Nuclear Power.” FAS Public Interest Report. The Journal of the Federation of American Scientists 54, no. 5 (September/October 2001).
A thoughtful article on proliferation-resistance, focusing on the dangers posed by the front-end (enrichment).

Miller, Marvin. “Attempts to Reduce the Proliferation Risks of Nuclear Power: An Overview of What’s Old and What’s New.” Security Studies Program and Department of Nuclear Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
A thoughtful overview from MIT’s Marvin Miller.

“Technological Opportunities to Increase the Proliferation Resistance of Global Civilian Nuclear Power Systems.” TOPS, January, 2001.
A report by the TOPS Task Force of the U.S. Nuclear Energy Research Advisory Committe (NERAC).

“Annex: Attributes of Proliferation Resistance for Civilian Nuclear Power Systems.” Attributes Paper-Final, October, 2000.
This companion to the TOPS Task Force report was developed by Livermore, not by the panel.

Nuclear Terrorism Risks

“Nuclear Terrorism.” Managing the Atom. Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
A compilation of links and perspectives (unfortunately not recently updated) from Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.

“Controlling Nuclear Warheads and Materials.” Research Library. NTI.
The best one-stop shopping on dangers of nuclear theft and nuclear weapons terrorism, plus programs to address them.

The Debate over the Dangers Posed by Sabotage of Spent Fuel Pools, and Possible Resulting Fires

Alvarez, Robert, Jan Beyea, Klaus Janberg, Jungmin Kang, Ed Lyman, Allison Macfarlane, Gordon Thompson, and Frank N. von Hippel. “Reducing the Hazards from Stored Spent Power-Reactor Fuel in the United States.” Science and Global Security 11 (2003): 1–51. Taylor and Francis Group. (PDF)
An article arguing there is a serious danger.

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. “Fact Sheet on NRC Review of Paper on Reducing Hazards from Stored Spent Nuclear Fuel.” August 2003.
The NRC’s response.

Alvarez, Robert, Jan Beyea, Klaus Janberg, Jungmin Kang, Ed Lyman, Allison MacFarlane, Gordon Thompson, and Frank von Hippel. Response by the Authors to the NRC Review of “Reducing the Hazards from Stored Spent Power-Reactor Fuel in the United States.” Science and Global Security 11 (2003): 213–223. Taylor and Francis Group.
The author’s response to the NRC Review. (PDF)

“Nuclear Security and Safeguards.” The IAEA Bulletin 43, no. 4 (2001). International Atomic Energy Agency.

### Nonproliferation Careers for Nuclear Engineers (Session #17)

Paid fellowships at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), sponsored by DOE. Administered through Brookhaven National Laboratory, International Safeguards Project Office.

Paid Nonproliferation Graduate Program (NGP) at DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Administered through Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Detailed information on the program, how to apply, stipend, etc.

International security program at Sandia National Laboratory: lead laboratory for physical protection, with a key role in a wide range of international and homeland security activities.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory: big role in wide range of nonproliferation programs.

Argonne National Laboratory: lead lab for converting research reactors so they no longer use HEU fuel, proliferation-resistant fast reactors, etc.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Los Alamos National Laboratory: big role in development of safeguards technology, international programs around the world.

## Course Info

##### Instructor

- Prof. Richard Lester

##### Departments

- Nuclear Science and Engineering
- Engineering Systems Division

##### As Taught In

Spring 2004

##### Level

Graduate

##### Topics

- Business
  - Management
- Energy
  - Electricity
  - Nuclear
- Engineering
  - Nuclear Engineering
    - Nuclear Systems, Policy, and Economics
- Social Science
  - Public Administration
    - Science and Technology Policy

##### Learning Resource Types

notes Lecture Notes
assignment Problem Sets
Problem Set Solutions

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