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Frequently
Asked Questions about Nuclear Terrorism
What is fission?
Fission is the process that occurs when an atom's nucleus splits,
releasing a massive amount of energy.
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What is fissile material?
Fissile material is matter that can sustain a fission chain reaction.
The two fissile materials used in nuclear weapons are uranium-235
and plutonium-239.
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Why is fissile material used in nuclear weapons?
Fissile material is the essential ingredient required to produce
the self-sustaining chain reaction that causes a nuclear explosion.
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What is weapons-grade
fissile material?
"Weapons-grade" refers to purified fissile material that
is most suitable for use in a nuclear weapon. A concentration of
more than 90 percent is optimal for both uranium-235 and plutonium-239.
Nuclear material with much lower concentrations can be used in nuclear
weapons, however -- and is sometimes referred to as "weapons-usable."
At uranium concentrations less than 20 percent, producing an explosive
chain reaction is almost impossible.
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How much
fissile material is needed to make a nuclear weapon?
As little as 35 pounds of uranium-235 or nine pounds of plutonium-239
is required to make a working nuclear bomb.
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Is it easier
to use uranium or plutonium as the fissile material for a nuclear
weapon?
Uranium-based bombs are easier to make and much less radioactive
(and therefore safer to handle) than plutonium bombs. However, four
times more uranium than plutonium is needed for a working weapon.
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Why is producing
fissile material the highest hurdle in making a nuclear weapon?
Making fissile material is expensive and time-consuming, requiring
roughly one billion dollars and a decade of intensive effort.
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How many
states have weapons-grade fissile material?
There are about 40 states with approximately 2,070 tons of weapons-usable
fissile material, enough to make more than 130,000 nuclear weapons.
(For more information, see Matthew Bunn and Anthony Wier, Controlling
Nuclear Warheads and Materials, http://www.nti.org/e_research/cnwm/threat/global.asp)
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Is weapons-grade
fissile material still being produced today?
Yes. India and Pakistan openly produce such material for weapons,
as does North Korea. Russia continues to produce 1.2 tons of weapons-grade
plutonium each year, because the reactors that produce it provide
essential heat and power for nearby communities. Israel refuses
oversight of its nuclear activities, and is probably still producing
plutonium. Iran is actively working to produce it. The U.S. stopped
producing fissile material for nuclear weapons in 1992. In addition,
facilities in several countries separate tens of tons of weapons-usable
plutonium from civilian reactor fuel every year, and this plutonium
is piling up in storage -- to the point that it will soon exceed
all the world's stockpiles of weapons plutonium combined.
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Have terrorists
acquired fissile material?
No, not to the best of anyone's knowledge, although terrorists are
trying. For example, according to the Justice Department, "from
at least as early as 1992, Osama bin Laden . . . and others known
and unknown made efforts to obtain the components of nuclear weapons."
(For more information, see Matthew Bunn and Anthony Wier, "The
Demand for Black Market Fissile Material," http://www.nti.org/e_research/cnwm/threat/demand.asp)
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If a president
judged it as important as the war on terrorism, how long would it
take to lock down the world's supply of fissile material?
It would take several years to secure the world's supply of fissile
material if it was made as high a priority as the war on terrorism.
(For more information, Matthew Bunn and Anthony Wier, Controlling
Nuclear Warheads and Materials, http://www.nti.org/e_research/cnwm/overview/cnwm_home.asp)
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If a president
judged it as important as the war on terrorism, how much would it
cost to secure the world's supply of fissile material?
The total cost would probably be between $30 billion and $50 billion.
(For more information, see Howard Baker and Lloyd Cutler, "A Report
Card on the Department of Energy's Nonproliferation Programs with
Russia," http://www.ceip.org/files/projects/npp/pdf/DOERussiaTaskForceReport011001.pdf)
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How long
would it take to build a nuclear weapon?
A decade, even if the necessary technology, funding, equipment and
scientific expertise were available, due to the difficulties of
producing fissile material. If a group started with fissile material
obtained elsewhere, it could make an elementary nuclear weapon in
less than one year.
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Does having
a nuclear reactor help in building a nuclear weapon?
Yes. Several states have used civilian nuclear reactors as a cover
to make nuclear weapons. The "spent fuel" waste produced by a civilian
reactor contains plutonium that, if separated out, can be used to
make a bomb.
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What is uranium
and where is it found?
Uranium is a radioactive
element that can be used in nuclear weapons. It is found in nature
-- in hard rock or sandstone -- throughout the world.
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What is highly-enriched
uranium (HEU)?
HEU is a form of uranium in which the isotope uranium-235 has been
increased from its average natural level of 0.7 percent of uranium
ore to greater than 20 percent.
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What is plutonium
and where is it found?
Plutonium is a man-made radioactive element that can be used in
nuclear weapons. Only trace amounts of plutonium are found in nature.
Almost all existing plutonium is a by-product of nuclear reactors.
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Are there
sizeable supplies of uranium and plutonium?
Yes. There are huge resources of uranium throughout the world. The
human race has produced more than two thousand tons of highly enriched
uranium and plutonium.
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How is weapons-grade
uranium-235 extracted out of uranium ore?
Uranium-235 is slightly lighter in mass than the remaining uranium
ore. Separation techniques capitalize on this difference. For example,
one method -- gas centrifuge enrichment -- spins gaseous uranium
hexafluoride in cylinders, so the lighter uranium-235 moves toward
the inner wall, where is it collected. (For more information, see
the Wisconsin Project "Bomb Facts: How Nuclear Weapons are Made,"
http://www.wisconsinproject.org)
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How is plutonium-239
extracted, i.e., what is plutonium reprocessing?
Plutonium-239 is chemically separated from spent reactor fuel by
removing spent fuel rods from a nuclear reactor, chopping them up,
and then dissolving them in nitric acid. The resulting liquid is
further separated into plutonium, uranium, and radioactive waste.
(For more information, see Federation of American Scientists, "Plutonium
Production," http://www.fas.org/nuke/intro/nuke/plutonium.htm)
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How many
states have sought nuclear weapons?
Approximately twenty eight: Britain, China, France, India, Israel,
Pakistan, Russia, the United States, and North Korea, as well as
Australia, Argentina, Belarus, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, Germany, Iraq,
Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Libya, Romania, South Africa, South Korea,
Sweden, Taiwan, Ukraine, and Yugoslavia.
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How many
states have nuclear weapons?
Eight: Britain, China, France, India, Israel, Pakistan, Russia,
and the United States. North Korea may have two (or as many as eight)
nuclear weapons.
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How many
states had nuclear weapons and then relinquished them?
Four: South Africa had six nuclear weapons by the 1980s and then,
just prior to the transfer of power to the post-apartheid government,
dismantled them. Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Belarus together had more
than 4,000 nuclear weapons on their territories when the Soviet
Union dissolved, and they each agreed in 1994 to return them to
Russia.
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How many
nuclear weapons are there in the world?
The Natural Resources Defense Council estimates that as of 2002,
there were around 22,000 nuclear weapons in the world. (For more
information, see NRDC, "Table of Global Nuclear Weapons Stockpiles,
1945-2002," http://www.nrdc.org/nuclear/nudb/datab19.asp)
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What are
the largest and smallest nuclear bombs ever produced?
The Soviets produced the largest-ever nuclear bomb, "Tsar Bomba,"
with an estimated yield of 100 megatons -- or 6,500 times the yield
of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The U.S. produced
the smallest confirmed nuclear weapon, the "Davy Crockett," with
a yield of 0.1 kilotons and weighing only 51 pounds.
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Why do states
develop nuclear weapons?
Nuclear weapons have been developed for a combination of reasons:
security, prestige, and domestic bureaucratic politics.
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If all the
resources needed to design a working nuclear bomb are readily available,
isn't nuclear proliferation inevitable?
No. President Kennedy predicted that by 1970 there would be 15 to
20 nuclear weapons states. Although there are over 40 states capable
of making a bomb, as of today, only eight have nuclear weapons.
The record shows that non-proliferation works when it is given serious
attention and resources.
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What prevents
states from seeking nuclear weapons?
States forgo nuclear weapons for a number of reasons: inadequate
national resources, technological constraints, the international
nuclear taboo, international treaties, domestic politics, international
inducements, security assurances, aid, threats of sanctions and
coercion, and the limited strategic utility of nuclear weapons.
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Is the United
States testing or producing additional nuclear weapons?
No. However, sub-critical testing -- using less fissile material
than the critical mass needed for a self-sustaining nuclear fission
reaction -- has been performed. And the Bush administration has
persuaded Congress to fund new nuclear weapons research.
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How do states
secure their nuclear weapons?
Optimally, states use a combination of barriers, guards, surveillance
cameras, motion sensors, background checks on personnel, and locks
built into the actual nuclear weapons. The United States and most
nuclear powers employ all these protections. Unfortunately, due
to Russia's enormous nuclear stockpile and lack of funds, its nuclear
facilities have been left inadequately protected. (For more information,
see Matthew Bunn and Anthony Wier, Controlling Nuclear Warheads
and Materials, http://www.nti.org/e_research/cnwm/overview/cnwm_home.asp)
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Has the United
States ever accidentally lost a nuclear weapon?
Yes. Experts estimate that at least 11 have been lost. For example,
in 1958 a damaged U.S. bomber was ordered to drop a nuclear weapon
into the Atlantic before landing. It was never recovered and rests
somewhere off the coast of Savannah, Georgia. (For more information,
see the Center for Defense Information, http://www.cdi.org/Issues/NukeAccidents/accidents.htm)
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Has Russia
ever accidentally lost a nuclear weapon?
Russia denies that any of its nuclear weapons have gone missing
although it admits some fissile material has been lost or stolen.
Moscow's assurance that "all nuclear weapons are in place" is wishful
thinking since at least four nuclear submarines with nuclear warheads
sank and were never recovered by the Soviet Union.
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Have terrorists
ever stolen or built a nuclear weapon?
No, but they are trying to. In 1998, Osama bin Laden issued a statement
titled The Nuclear Bomb of Islam, declaring, "It is the duty of
Muslims to prepare as much force as possible to terrorize the enemies
of God."
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Has any state
ever sold a nuclear weapon to a terrorist?
No. Although the potential for such a sale exists, there is no documented
case of a state selling a nuclear weapon to a terrorist.
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Could terrorists
acquire HEU or plutonium?
Yes. There have been dozens of documented thefts and sales of fissile
material to potential terrorists who were subsequently captured.
Russia's substantial amounts of poorly secured HEU and plutonium
remain a prime target for theft. (For a regularly updated list of
security incidents, see Matthew Bunn and Anthony Wier, Controlling
Nuclear Warheads and Materials: "Anecdotes of Insecurity",
http://www.nti.org/e_research/cnwm/threat/global.asp)
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Could a nuclear
power reactor be targeted by terrorists to cause a nuclear explosion?
There is no possibility of a nuclear explosion at a civilian reactor.
However, a terrorist attack on a nuclear power plant could cause
a massive release of radiation.
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Could terrorists
deliver a nuclear weapon, or the fissile material required to build
one, into the United States undetected?
Yes. HEU and plutonium are easy to conceal and give off faint radiation
signals, and thus could be smuggled into the United States almost
as easily as illegal drugs.
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How are nuclear
weapons different from other weapons of mass destruction?
Nuclear weapons cause immediate, irreversible, widespread destruction.
Chemical and biological weapons produce slower-paced, less pervasive
effects that can be contained or counteracted.
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How would
a nuclear explosion affect the surrounding area?
There are three major effects of a nuclear explosion: searing heat,
overpressure from the blast, and radiation. The intensity of the
effects depends on the yield of the weapon and the distance from
the blast (For more information, see the Federation of American
Scientists, "Nuclear Weapon Effects," http://www.fas.org/nuke/intro/nuke/effects.htm.)
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What is a
dirty bomb?
A dirty bomb uses conventional explosives such as dynamite to spread
radioactive material. It is also known as a radiological dispersal
device.
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What is radioactivity?
Radioactivity is the process by which unstable elements become more
stable by emitting particles and energy. This process is measured
in "half-lives," the time it takes half of a radioactive material
to decay into a more stable element. The half-life of plutonium-239
is 24,000 years; that of uranium-235 is 704 million years.
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What is radiation?
Radiation consists of the particles and energy released into its
surrounding environment by a decaying unstable element. Sources
of radiation include the sun, microwaves, x-ray machines and fissile
material.
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What is radiation
sickness?
Radiation sickness occurs when a person is exposed to large amounts
of radiation, usually within a short period of time. Such exposure
can cause: nausea, vomiting, weakness, hair loss, hemorrhaging,
and death.
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Is a dirty
bomb a weapon of mass destruction?
No. Instead, it is sometimes called a "weapon of mass disruption"
because of the panic it would cause, as well as the costs of decontamination.
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Is a dirty
bomb a nuclear weapon?
No. A dirty bomb does not result in a nuclear explosion. It only
spreads radioactive material.
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What radioactive
materials could be used to make a dirty bomb?
Any type of radioactive material could be used to make a dirty bomb.
Potential sources including americium, cesium and strontium are
found in hospitals, at industrial and construction sites, and at
food irradiation plants.
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What is easier
to build, a dirty bomb or a nuclear bomb?
A dirty bomb is easier to make. In its simplest form it is no more
then a stick of dynamite and some radioactive material in a shoebox.
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Has a dirty
bomb ever been used?
The only known dirty bomb-related incident occurred when Chechen
rebels planted radioactive cesium packed with dynamite in a Moscow
park. Fortunately, the authorities quickly located the material
before it was dispersed.
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What hazards
does a dirty bomb pose?
A dirty bomb's greatest threat is economic cost of decontamination.
The blast from the "bomb" part of the device would kill
whoever would be killed by the stick of dynamite -- or whatever
other explosive material is used. The "radioactive" part
of the device would not be likely to cause any immediate deaths
but, depending upon exposure and treatment, could increase the likelihood
of cancer and other diseases decades later. (For more information,
see Peter D. Zimmerman and Cheryl Loeb, "Dirty Bombs: The Threat
Revisited," http://hps.org/documents/RDD_report.pdf.)
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