The purpose of the scenarios workshop held for the Civilian Nuclear component of the Global Nuclear Assured Security Mission Integration Initiative was to identify sources of risk in the global civilian nuclear enterprise. The risks identified are inadequately addressed through current technical measures, regulatory frameworks and institutions and should be considered for further research. The workshop participants also developed four high level scenarios describing different sequences of events that could result in radiological releases, widespread loss of electric power, and loss of public confidence in segments of the nuclear industry. The scenarios are intended for further analysis and as the basis for simulation exercises.
Representatives from the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Nuclear Security Administration, and Sandia National Laboratories met with mid-level representatives from Iraq's oil and gas companies and with former employees and senior managers of Iraq's Ministry of Oil September 3-5 in Amman, Jordan. The goals of the workshop were to assess the needs of the Iraqi Oil Ministry and industry, to provide information about capabilities at DOE and the national laboratories relevant to Iraq, and to develop ideas for potential projects.
This report describes the findings of the effort initiated by the Arab Science and Technology Foundation and the Cooperative Monitoring Center at Sandia National Laboratories to identify, contact, and engage members of the Iraqi science and technology (S&T) community. The initiative is divided into three phases. The first phase, the survey of the Iraqi scientific community, shed light on the most significant current needs in the fields of science and technology in Iraq. Findings from the first phase will lay the groundwork for the second phase that includes the organization of a workshop to bring international support for the initiative, and simultaneously decides on an implementation mechanism. Phase three involves the execution of outcomes of the report as established in the workshop. During Phase 1 the survey team conducted a series of trips to Iraq during which they had contact with nearly 200 scientists from all sections of the country, representing all major Iraqi S&T specialties. As a result of these contacts, the survey team obtained over 450 project ideas from Iraqi researchers. These projects were revised and analyzed to identify priorities and crucial needs. After refinement, the result is approximately 170 project ideas that have been categorized according to their suitability for (1) developing joint research projects with international partners, (2) engaging Iraqi scientists in solving local problems, and (3) developing new business opportunities. They have also been ranked as to high, medium, or low priority.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula remain high despite a long-term strategy by South Korea to increase inter-Korean exchanges in economics, culture, sports, and other topics. This is because the process of reconciliation has rarely extended to military and security topics and those initiatives that were negotiated have been ineffective. Bilateral interactions must include actions to reduce threats and improve confidence associated with conventional military forces (land, sea, and air) as well as nuclear, chemical, and biological activities that are applicable to developing and producing weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The purpose of this project is to develop concepts for inter-Korean confidence building measures (CBMs) for military and WMD topics that South Korea could propose to the North when conditions are right. This report describes the historical and policy context for developing security-related CBMs and presents an array of bilateral options for conventional military and WMD topics within a consistent framework. The conceptual CBMs address two scenarios: (1) improved relations where construction of a peace regime becomes a full agenda item in inter-Korean dialogue, and (2) continued tense inter-Korean relations. Some measures could be proposed in the short term under current conditions, others might be implemented in a series of steps, while some require a higher level of cooperation than currently exists. To support decision making by political leaders, this research focuses on strategies and policy options and does not include technical details.
The Navruz Project is a cooperative, transboundary, river monitoring project involving rivers and institutions in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, and facilitated by Sandia National Laboratories in the U.S. The Navruz Project focuses on waterborne radionuclides and metals because of their importance to public health and nuclear materials proliferation concerns in the region. The Project also collects data on basic water quality parameters. Data obtained in this project are shared among all participating countries and the public through a world-wide web site (http://www.cmc.sandia.org/Central/centralasia.html), and are available for use in further studies and in regional transboundary water resource management efforts. This report includes graphs showing selected data from the Fall 2000 and Spring 2001 sampling seasons. These data include all parameters grouped into six regions, including main rivers and some tributaries in the Amu Darya and Syr Darya river systems. This report also assembles all data (in tabular form) generated by the project from Fall 2000 through Fall 2001. This report comes as the second part of a planned three-part reporting process. The first report is the Sampling and Analysis Plan and Operational Manual, SAND 2002-0484. This is the second report.
The Navruz Project is a cooperative, transboundary, river monitoring project involving rivers and institutions in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan facilitated by Sandia National Laboratories in the U.S. The Navruz Project focuses on waterborne radionuclides and metals because of their importance to public health and nuclear materials proliferation concerns in the region. Data obtained in this project are shared among all participating countries and the public through an internet web site and are available for use in further studies and in regional transboundary water resource management efforts. Overall, the project addresses three main goals: to help increase capabilities in Central Asian nations for sustainable water resources management; to provide a scientific basis for supporting nuclear transparency and non-proliferation in the region; and to help reduce the threat of conflict in Central Asia over water resources, proliferation concerns, or other factors. The Navruz project has a duration of three years. This document contains the reports from each of the participating institutions following the first year of data collection. While a majority of samples from the Navruz project are within normal limits, a preliminary analysis does indicate a high concentration of selenium in the Kazakhstan samples. Uzbekistan samples contain high uranium and thorium concentrations, as well as elevated levels of chromium, antimony and cesium. Additionally, elevated concentrations of radioactive isotopes have been detected at one Tajikistan sampling location. Further analysis will be published in a subsequent report.
The transboundary nature of water resources demands a transboundary approach to their monitoring and management. However, transboundary water projects raise a challenging set of problems related to communication issues, and standardization of sampling, analysis and data management methods. This manual addresses those challenges and provides the information and guidance needed to perform the Navruz Project, a cooperative, transboundary, river monitoring project involving rivers and institutions in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan facilitated by Sandia National Laboratories in the U.S. The Navruz Project focuses on waterborne radionuclides and metals because of their importance to public health and nuclear materials proliferation concerns in the region. This manual provides guidelines for participants on sample and data collection, field equipment operations and procedures, sample handling, laboratory analysis, and data management. Also included are descriptions of rivers, sampling sites and parameters on which data are collected. Data obtained in this project are shared among all participating countries and the public through an internet web site, and are available for use in further studies and in regional transboundary water resource management efforts. Overall, the project addresses three main goals: to help increase capabilities in Central Asian nations for sustainable water resources management; to provide a scientific basis for supporting nuclear transparency and non-proliferation in the region; and to help reduce the threat of conflict in Central Asia over water resources, proliferation concerns, or other factors.