A New Approach to the Nuclear Fuel Cycle
Every generation or so, experts debate whether we need to do more to control the technologies that can be used to make fissile material for nuclear weapons or for peaceful nuclear energy. Most recently, concerns about capabilities in Iran and North Korea have raised the question: Is the current approach on the fuel cycle - leaving uranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing capabilities in the hands of national governments - too risky on proliferation and security grounds?
In early 2011, the Nuclear Threat Initiative and the CSIS Proliferation Prevention Program launched the New Approaches to the Fuel Cycle (NAFC) project to develop an integrated approach to nuclear supply and demand that would improve the robustness of the nonproliferation regime without dampening the sustainability of nuclear energy. Drawing from industry, government, and NGO community expertise in the United States and abroad, the NAFC project is the first comprehensive approach to managing nuclear energy that would address "future Irans," seeking to close gaps in the system that allow the spread of sensitive fuel cycle technologies and enable states to produce weapons-usable nuclear material.
Speakers include:
Dr. John Hamre
President, CEO, and Pritzker Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Ms. Joan Rohlfing
President and COO, Nuclear Threat Initiative
Ms. Sharon Squassoni
Director and Senior Fellow, Proliferation Prevention Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Dr. Andrew Newman
Senior Program Officer, Material Security and Minimization, Nuclear Threat Initiative
Dr. Everett Redmond
Senior Director, Policy Development, Nuclear Energy Institute.
CSIS discusses the findings of the NAFC project, its recommended "best practices," and their role in ensuring a secure and sustainable nuclear future.
