INTERVIEW - Nuclear materials difficult for terrorists to use
Date: 24-Sep-01
Country: AUSTRIA
Author: Richard Murphy
Even if terrorists succeeded in obtaining a nuclear bomb, it would not be easy to detonate, he told Reuters in an interview.
"The weapons are not just sitting ready-made for them. As far as I know, most countries do not keep them ready-assembled," said ElBaradei, who was re-elected this week to a second four-year term as head of the world's nuclear watchdog.
"There are a lot of security measures before you assemble a bomb and put it on a missile and trigger it."
The IAEA's 132 member countries ended their annual conference last week by agreeing "to devote attention to the potential implications of terrorist acts for the physical protection of nuclear material and nuclear facilities."
U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham called on Monday for tougher controls on the export of nuclear materials in the aftermath of last week's attacks in the United States, which killed more than 6,000 people.
NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY NOT INVULNERABLE
ElBaradei said nuclear technology was not invulnerable to possible use by terrorists.
"There is obviously a degree of vulnerability in any technology. Any group with malicious intentions can do a lot of harm - whether it's a bridge, an electric power station, nuclear reactor or a dam. The possibilities are infinite."
But the attacks in New York and Washington had demonstrated that everyday technology could be used to devastating effect and security standards in the nuclear industry were exceptionally high.
"In general, if I look at the nuclear sector, we are much more security-conscious than, say, the chemical or pharmaceutical industry. There is lots of horror which you can do with chemical and biological agents as much as nuclear."
Conceivable scenarios for a nuclear terrorist threat included detonation of a nuclear bomb, deliberate dispersal of radioactive material in a populated area and attacking a nuclear energy plant.
"We are aware that small amounts of materials have been smuggled, but they are mostly radioactive sources and not material that can be used for bombs," ElBaradei said.
Assembling a nuclear bomb was not easy. "It requires a great deal of sophistication - to have the quantity of material, to have the detonation. I think that's quite difficult."
"A scenario which is much easier is just dispersion - dissemination of radioactivity," he added.
Releasing nuclear material from an everyday source such as a hospital could be disruptive and cause a lot of anxiety.
"The scenarios are infinite. You don't need to have nuclear material, it can be radioactive sources. It doesn't have to be explosive material. You can put it in a water supply, you can do a lot."
But strong safeguards are already in place and these will be strengthened after last week's attacks. "We have a physical security system which is, I would say, adequate, not excellent yet. We are trying to work hard to improve that."
"We have a good safeguards system which enables us to detect whether any nuclear material which can be used for detonation is missing. We would know right away."
PLANTS TO WITHSTAND PLANE CRASHES
ElBaradei said the possibility of terrorist attacks, earthquakes and plane crashes had been taken into account in the design of nuclear power plants.
"I would not say they are completely invulnerable, but nor would I say there is an absolute guarantee that any aerial attack would automatically lead to a disaster. The truth is somewhere in between," he said.
"Like with any other technology there is no absolute guarantee. But they are not automatically an easy target."
If terrorists overran a nuclear power plant, they would have difficulty putting the nuclear material to illicit use.
"Material inside the core of a reactor is almost impossible to handle. The terrorists would be the first to die if they came near the core," ElBaradei said. "To move from nuclear material in a reactor to making a bomb - that's almost impossible."
The IAEA had already mad
