Edition

Celebrating 20 Years of Nunn-Lugar

IN THIS ISSUE: Celebrating 20 Years of Nunn-Lugar, Turkish nuclear energy, Russia renews threat to pull out of NATO summit, India, U.S. discuss civil nuclear issue, new concerns about Northwest nuclear waste plant, NRC chief faces political test ahead of safety reforms.

Published on December 13, 2011
 

Celebrating 20 Years of Nunn-Lugar, With Questions About the Future

Togzhan Kassenova and Toby Dalton | Carnegie Proliferation Analysis

Sen. Lugar

December 12 marks the twentieth anniversary of one of the most innovative and important nonproliferation initiatives of the post-Cold War period: the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) Program.

The disintegration of the former Soviet nuclear security apparatus did not result in a major nuclear catastrophe as many experts worried, and CTR is clearly due a significant share of the credit.

It has been one of the most successful "whole-of-government" responses to a potentially cataclysmic threat. It remains an important tool today for international cooperation to reduce nuclear dangers, but some tough questions about the continued viability of the model loom. The CTR program suffered a rough start both in the United States and Russia. In Washington, legislators agreed that the threat of nuclear collapse in the disintegrating Soviet Union was real, but they questioned the imminence of the threat.     Full Article



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Sinan Ulgen | EDAM
In the last fifty years, interest towards nuclear energy fluctuated significantly. With the continuous increase in Turkey's demand for energy, initiatives to build a nuclear power plant were given a new boost in the past decade. Following the failure of a new tender process in 2008 the investment model was changed to a Build Own Operate (BOO) scheme.     Full Article

Global Security Newswire
Russia on Friday renewed a threat to cancel a planned summit with NATO next May if the two former Cold War antagonists are unable to reach a compromise on missile defense. "It would be easier to stage the summit if we agreed on missile defense by that point," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in an interview with a Russian state broadcaster. "We do not know if we will agree or not."     Full Article

Sandeep Dikshit | Hindu
India and the United States on Monday held talks on several issues, mainly the civil nuclear issue. Visiting Deputy Secretary of State William Burns said Indian interlocutors, including Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai and National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon, agreed on the need for "full implementation" of the civil nuclear agreement, during his meetings with them.     Full Article

Shannon Dininny | Associated Press
The federal government says a one-of-a-kind plant that will convert radioactive waste into a stable and storable substance that resembles glass will cost hundreds of millions of dollars more and may take longer to build, adding to a string of delays and skyrocketing price tag for the project. In addition, several workers at southeast Washington's Hanford nuclear reservation have raised concerns about the safety of the plant's design.     Full Article

 
 
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Westinghouse Electric Co. unit earned two key votes of confidence Friday on the nuclear-reactor design slated to be used at a dozen new nuclear power-generating units in the U.S. Two of the five members of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, including the chairman, endorsed the AP-1000 reactor design Friday. The positions of the three other commissioners haven't yet been made public.     Full Article
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