Nuclear Forensics: Role, State of the Art, Program Needs
This report was produced by a joint Working Group (WG) of the American Physical Society (APS) Panel on Public Affairs and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Center for Science, Technology and Security Policy. The primary purpose of this report is to provide the Congress, U.S. government agencies and other institutions involved in nuclear forensics with a clear unclassified statement of the state of the art of nuclear forensics; an assessment of its potential for preventing and identifying unattributed nuclear attacks; and identification of the policies, resources and human talent to fulfill that potential. The WG formally met twice, once in Washington, D.C., and once in Palo Alto, California, to hear presentations from staff of the DOE/NNSA, the DHS, the DOS, the DTRA, and Congress. The sessions were unclassified, although several members of the WG have access to classified material.
Nuclear forensics remains a technically complex challenge for the scientific and law enforcement communities. The difficulty in successful forensics work, especially as part of an attribution process, should not be underestimated. However, the potential for nuclear forensics to play a crucial role in analysis of both pre- and post-detonation materials is enormous. The problems of a declining pool of technically competent scientists, the need for new technology, and the utility of international cooperation, all point to the need for a set of new initiatives in order to maximize the potential impact of nuclear forensics.
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This document is categorized within these themes:
Nuclear Forensics
American Physical Society
American Association for the Advancement of Science
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