Non-Proliferation

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed legislation that suspends the bilateral agreement under which his nation and the United States were each to dispose of 34 metric tons of nuclear weapon-usable plutonium. Putin early last month signed a decree suspending the Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement (PMDA), citing hostile U.S. behavior and Washington’s failure to […]

Russia’s Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Station Unit 4 has been named a “Top Plant” for 2016 in the nuclear generation category of POWER Magazine’s annual POWER awards. The magazine noted in its announcement this week that in 2000, Russian President Vladimir Putin began a new program to expand his nation’s nuclear capacity, which included construction of […]

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed legislation that suspends the bilateral agreement under which his nation and the United States were each to dispose of 34 metric tons of nuclear weapon-usable plutonium. Putin early last month signed a decree suspending the Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement (PMDA), citing hostile U.S. behavior and Washington’s failure to […]

The United Nations First Committee voted Thursday to begin negotiations next year on a nuclear weapons ban treaty, a major global push toward nuclear disarmament strongly opposed by the five nations that are simultaneously the permanent U.N. Security Council members and the recognized nuclear-weapon states. A total of 123 countries voted in favor of the […]

Russia’s Federal Assembly this week completed its approval of legislation suspending the bilateral agreement with the United States under which each country had committed to disposing of 34 metric tons of nuclear weapon-usable plutonium. The upper house of the country’s legislature, the Council of the Federation, signed off on the bill Wednesday. Russian President Vladimir […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said it this week hosted international diplomats at the Nevada National Security Site and the National Atomic Testing Museum to offer demonstrations of nuclear security technologies. The semiautonomous Department of Energy agency showcased its Stockpile Stewardship Program, which maintains the U.S. nuclear stockpile without nuclear explosive testing, as well […]

The Russian Council of the Federation, the upper house of the country’s legislature, on Wednesday approved legislation suspending the bilateral agreement with the United States under which each country had committed to disposing of 34 metric tons of nuclear weapon-usable plutonium. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Oct. 3 that suspended the Plutonium […]

Frank Rose, U.S. assistant secretary of state for arms control, verification and compliance, will travel to Japan, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, and Israel starting this week for a series of arms control and international security events, the State Department said Friday. From Oct. 25-29, Rose will visit with his counterparts in Tokyo and Seoul, […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission this month issued a license for export of weapon-grade uranium to France to refuel a research reactor. The agency is considering several similar license applications from the Department of Energy’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Each draws scrutiny from nongovernmental nonproliferation advocates who fear terrorists could obtain the highly enriched […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) said last weekend that efforts are underway to address concerns over lax security measures for some of its radioactive source licensees. In an Oct. 2 letter to NRC Chairman Stephen Burns, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called for the regulator to suspend its approval of Category 3 radioactive material licenses in […]

Two senior members of the House of Representatives this week said Russia is in “material breach” of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, and that the Obama administration has failed to respond with sufficient strength to the threat. “It has become apparent to us that the situation regarding Russia’s violation has worsened and Russia is […]

The Russian State Duma on Wednesday passed legislation suspending the bilateral agreement with the United States through which each country committed to disposing of 34 metric tons of nuclear weapon-usable plutonium, following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decree early this month officially halting his nation’s participation in the deal. Putin signed a decree on Oct. 3 […]

The Russian State Duma on Wednesday passed legislation suspending the bilateral agreement with the United States through which each country had planned to dispose of 34 metric tons of nuclear weapon-usable plutonium, following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decree early this month officially halting his nation’s participation in the deal. Putin signed a decree on Oct. […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission this month issued a license for export of weapon-grade uranium to France to refuel a research reactor. The agency is considering several similar license applications from the Department of Energy’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration. Each draws scrutiny from nongovernmental nonproliferation advocates who fear terrorists could obtain the highly enriched uranium […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) said over the weekend that efforts are under way to address concerns over lax security measures for some of its radioactive source licensees. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has asked NRC Chairman Stephen Burns for a suspension of Category 3 radioactive material licenses in light of concerns highlighted recently by the […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has concluded that the contractor for the Mixed Oxide (MOX) Fuel Fabrication Facility project in South Carolina committed two violations involving structural welding. A Sept. 28 letter from the NRC to CB&I AREVA MOX Services said the base civil penalty of $35,000 would be waived “to encourage prompt and comprehensive […]

Veteran U.S. foreign service officer Thomas Countryman on Sunday took over as the State Department’s acting undersecretary for arms control and international security. Countryman replaces Rose Gottemoeller, who left Foggy Bottom to become deputy secretary general at NATO. Countryman will remain assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation, his position for the last five […]

In the latest move in the ongoing lawsuit over disposition of Department of Energy plutonium stored in South Carolina, the federal government submitted documents on Monday demonstrating its intention to advance downblending at the Savannah River Site and to send the processed material to the soon-to-be reopened Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico. The […]

President Barack Obama announced Thursday his intent to appoint L. Wayne Brasure as director for domestic nuclear detection at the Department of Homeland Security. Brasure has been the deputy director of DHS’ Domestic Nuclear Detection Office since 2014, while also serving as acting director of the office since May 2016, the announcement said. Brasure’s previous […]

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s signing Monday of a decree halting his nation’s participation in a bilateral agreement with the United States through which each country would dispose of 34 metric tons of nuclear weapon-usable plutonium may represent the highest-profile casualty of the U.S. domestic battle over a costly facility under construction in South Carolina. The Kremlin […]

The Russian government on Wednesday suspended agreements for cooperation with the United States on nuclear- and energy-related scientific research and development and the conversion of Russian research reactors from highly enriched uranium to low-enriched uranium fuel. The move follows the Kremlin’s withdrawal from a bilateral plutonium disposition agreement earlier this week. The R&D agreement, signed in September […]

The United States and Russia largely continue to reduce their arsenals of long-range nuclear weapons in line with the mandates of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), with the exception of an increase in Russia’s deployed strategic warheads, according to the latest aggregate data released over the weekend on treaty activity. The bilateral […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said Tuesday it has completed deployment of 27 radiation detection systems across Bulgaria, thereby completing the nation’s nuclear detection architecture. These efforts, conducted through the NNSA’s Nuclear Smuggling Detection and Deterrence (NSDD) program, are intended to help prevent the smuggling of radioactive materials. Anne Harrington, NNSA deputy administrator for defense nuclear […]

In the latest move in the ongoing lawsuit over disposition of Department of Energy plutonium stored in South Carolina, the federal government submitted documents on Monday demonstrating its intention to advance downblending at the Savannah River Site and to send the processed material to the soon-to-be reopened Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico. The […]

A longstanding plan to send highly enriched uranium (HEU) from Canada to the Savannah River Site in South Carolina has been delayed at least until Feb. 17, 2017 – an agreed-upon date that is expected to give the federal government enough time to prove it is meeting contractual and legal obligations for the shipments. The […]

The Russian government suspended Wednesday an agreement on cooperation with the United States on nuclear- and energy-related scientific research and development. The move follows the Kremlin’s withdrawal from another bilateral nuclear security agreement earlier this week. The R&D agreement, signed in September 2013 on the margins of the International Atomic Energy Agency General Conference in Vienna, Austria, […]

A senior Russian official said Tuesday the United States failed to hold up its end of a bilateral nonproliferation agreement that President Vladimir Putin suspended Monday by not consulting with Russia of its plan to change its plutonium disposition approach. The Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement requires each nation to eliminate 34 metric tons of plutonium, […]

In the latest move in the ongoing lawsuit over disposition of Department of Energy plutonium stored in South Carolina, the federal government submitted documents on Monday demonstrating its intention to advance downblending at the Savannah River Site and to send the processed material to the soon-to-be reopened Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico. South […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said Tuesday it has completed deployment of 27 radiation detection systems across Bulgaria, thereby completing the nation’s nuclear detection architecture. These efforts, conducted through the NNSA’s Nuclear Smuggling Detection and Deterrence (NSDD) programs, are intended to help prevent the smuggling of radioactive materials. Anne Harrington, NNSA deputy administrator for defense nuclear […]

A longstanding plan to send highly enriched uranium (HEU) from Canada to the Savannah River Site in South Carolina has been delayed at least until Feb. 17, 2017 – an agreed-upon date that is expected to give the federal government enough time to prove it is meeting contractual and legal obligations for the shipments. The […]