Senior delegates from 37 nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency, European Union, and United Nations met last Thursday in Livermore, Calif., to practice effective responses to emerging nuclear security threats, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced yesterday. Apex Gold, “the first ever minister-level gathering to identify national and international actions to address a nuclear crisis,” involved an exercise in which delegates formulated responses to a hypothetical act of nuclear terrorism, the NNSA said. The intent, according to the agency, was to prepare participants to advise their heads of government in the event of a nuclear security crisis. The meeting also “laid important ground work” for the upcoming Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C., during which the international community will discuss nuclear security and the prevention of nuclear terrorism and smuggling, the NNSA said.
The event was organized by the Department of Energy and the Dutch Foreign Affairs Ministry. It also involved a tour of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory “to better understand some of the technical tools available for detecting and analyzing nuclear material and making decisions in the event of a nuclear terrorism crisis,” NNSA said.
Jobs