Spotlight: An overlooked global challenge: the whereabouts of nuclear material

The world has been on high alert since a recent news report claimed that Iraq is searching for "highly dangerous" radioactive material stolen last year. A specialized camera containing up to 10 grams of highly radioactive Iridium-192 went missing in November from a storage facility near the southern Iraqi city of Basra.

The device, which uses gamma rays to test flaws in materials used for oil and gas pipelines, belongs to U.S. oilfield services company Weatherford. Although the radioactive material had not been found, the U.S. State Department watered down any fear, saying it did not see any sign that it fell into the hands of the Islamic State or other terrorist groups.

The case is not an isolated one. Large quantities of Ir-192 have gone missing before in the United States, Britain and other countries, stoking fears that it could be used by terrorists to make dirty bombs. Unlike a nuclear weapon, which uses nuclear fission to trigger a much more powerful explosion, a dirty bomb combines nuclear material with conventional explosives to contaminate an area with radiation. The radioactive material itself can also cause harm simply by being left exposed in a public place, according to scientists.

FALLING INTO THE WRONG HANDS?

Some extremists such as terrorists and militant groups have become a new force seeking nuclear material, a grave concern overlooked by the current nuclear security establishment, said a leading Chinese researcher on international affairs.

Wu Chunsi of the Center for American Studies at the Shanghai Institute of International Studies, said in a published article that sloppy monitoring and control of "non-government entities" over nuclear material has become the most tenuous and uncertain part of the global non-proliferation system.

Senior Chinese nuclear expert Zhu Xuhui agreed that the current situation is quite severe as huge amounts of nuclear material might fall into the hands of terrorists. The world needs to be fully aware of the threat, and nuclear security is an issue that deserves long-term attention, said Zhu.

Another overlooked threat is the potential danger of terrorists launching cyber attacks against nuclear power plants, which could be hard to predict and prevent, Zhu said.

Zhu's view was echoed by Page Stoutland, vice president of scientific and technical affairs at the Nuclear Threats Initiative (NTI), who told Xinhua that the hidden danger partly lies in the potential for cyber attacks designed to steal materials and sabotage nuclear facilities.

JAPAN, A NUCLEAR SAFETY CONCERN

Another major concern involves Japan.

Before the Fukushima nuclear plant meltdown in 2011, Japan received about 30 percent of its electricity from nuclear sources. After the Fukushima disaster, the country was urged to stop running its nuclear treatment plant for an indefinite period. Yet five years on, Japan began the controversial process of reopening some of its other reactors instead.

It remains to be seen whether Japan, a country frequently hit by earthquakes, can regain public trust in properly managing its nuclear facilities. A much bigger risk to the international community is the country's overstock of nuclear material, Zhu told Xinhua.

With an estimated 48 tons of plutonium - enough to make nuclear weapons - Japan's excessive stockpile of nuclear material has gone far beyond the demand of its power stations. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Nuclear Security Summit have called on all countries to keep a balance of supply and demand for nuclear material.

Japan has been urged to reduce plutonium in accordance with a deal reached at the Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague in March 2014 by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Barack Obama.

In early March, Japan returned 331 kilograms of plutonium, including weapons-grade plutonium to the United States. Once it arrives in the United States, the material will be destroyed. However, observers say Japan needs to do more to assuage international concerns about its nuclear ambitions given the country's history of war and aggression.

Japan is the only country that has been attacked with nuclear weapons. During World War II, about 214,000 people were killed by two atomic bombs dropped by U.S bombers on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Thousands of others perished months or years later from radiation sickness.

Japan suffered a nuclear disaster again in 2011 when a magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami stroked north-eastern Japan, knocking out power at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and some cooling systems, and causing meltdowns at three of its six reactors. Common fears, such as concerns about radioactive seafood, can still be felt beyond Japanese borders.

A FIGHT WE CAN'T AFFORD TO LOSE

Reeling from major nuclear disasters including Fukushima and Chernobyl in 1986, the world realized that nuclear technology is vulnerable and dangerous, and an international consensus is needed on how to tackle nuclear issues properly.

During the recently concluded Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C., over 50 world leaders vowed to make continued efforts to safeguard nuclear security, especially to prevent terrorists from obtaining and using a nuclear weapon.

"The threat of nuclear and radiological terrorism remains one of the greatest challenges to international security, and the threat is constantly evolving," they pointed out in a communique.

"More work remains to be done to prevent non-state actors from obtaining nuclear and other radioactive materials, which could be used for malicious purposes," it said. "We pledge that our countries will continue to make nuclear security an enduring priority."

Meanwhile, the summit obtained enough ratification for the Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM) to enter into force, providing a stronger legal basis for the world's nuclear security work.

The CPPNM is the only legally binding international instrument in the area of the physical protection of nuclear material. IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano once called the amendment "the most important area of unfinished business in global nuclear security."

Admittedly, nuclear technology is a double-edged sword and every country has its own idea of the potential risks and challenges. But there is at least one bright spot: all nations agree that the need to enhance global nuclear security is an urgent one. Endi