Fissile Materials and Disarmament

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Fissile Materials and Disarmament

Verifying nuclear disarmament poses an unprecedented technical challenge, given the lingering uncertainty over whether states have retained militarily significant stockpiles of fissile material.

By James M. Acton

Published on Mar 23, 2011

Source: Getting to Zero: The Path to Nuclear Disarmament

Verifying nuclear disarmament poses an unprecedented technical challenge. There can never be certainty that nuclear-armed states have not retained militarily significant stockpiles of fissile material, but there must be international confidence assuring compliance and enforcement mechanisms. In the short term, to help prevent these uncertainties from becoming a roadblock in the future, Acton advocates these steps: (a) collect and archive information about fissile material production; (b) place information about fissile material production and holdings in the public domain; (c) be more transparent about civilian nuclear materials; and (d) implement the proposed Fissile Material Control Initiative. On their part, non-nuclear-weapon states could be prepared to recognize these as meaningful steps towards disarmament. Furthermore, Acton addresses bolstering enforcement mechanisms to improve confidence.

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About the Author

James M. Acton

Jessica T. Mathews Chair, Co-director, Nuclear Policy Program

Acton holds the Jessica T. Mathews Chair and is co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

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Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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