Nuclear forensics

Responding to recommendations issued earlier this year by a joint working group of the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Senate committee in April authorized $25 million to establish a nuclear forensics program in the US Department of Energy. The Committee on Armed Services included another $5 million for fellowships to train scientists how to trace the origins of captured nuclear materials and to analyze radioactive debris after a nuclear attack. The provisions were included in the annual bill that authorizes the Department of Defense and DOE nuclear weapons programs. On the House side, the defense bill approved by an Armed Services subcommittee included just $5 million for nuclear forensics. But when the full House takes up the bill, newly elected Representative Bill Foster (D-IL), a former Fermilab physicist, is expected to offer an amendment to raise the amount to the Senate level. Appropriators generally adhere closely to funding levels specified in defense authorization bills.

In its report, the APS–AAAS working group said that the ability to trace weapons materials to the originating reactor or enrichment facility could well deter both states and weapons scientists from supplying the materials to terrorists. At least three to four people with PhDs in relevant disciplines are needed each year over the next decade to replace experts who are nearing retirement, the report said. In addition, specialized, automated, field-deployable equipment for measuring radiation near the sites of a nuclear incident must be developed and manufactured.