The Real Threat Of Nuclear Smuggling

The Real Threat of Nuclear Smuggling


   This reading was based on the controversy over the threat that nuclear

smuggling poses.  It begins by going over the view of each side in a brief

manner.  It states that some analysts dismiss it as a minor nuisance while

others find the danger to be very real and probable. This reading stands mainly

for the belief that nuclear smuggling is a real danger.  The analysts that find

this issue to be a problem say that nuclear smuggling presents grave and serious

because even though the percent of these type of smuggling is less than that of

drugs for example, the law-enforcement type officials are also less experienced

at stopping shipments of an item such as uranium than they are in seizing

marijuana or hashish.

    These same analysts have also found that even a small leakage rate of any

type of nuclear material can have extremely vast consequences and dangers.  They

say that although secrecy rules make precise numbers impossible to get, Thomas B.

Cochran of the Natural Resources Defense Council in Washington, D.C., estimates

that a bomb requires between three and 25 kilograms of enriched uranium or

between one and eight kilograms of plutonium. A Kilogram of plutonium occupies

about 50.4 cubic centimeters, or one seventh the volume of a standard aluminum

soft-drink can.

     In addition to this, analysts have found that security is much to lax in

even the supposedly "most protected locations".  For example, the Russian stores

in particular suffer from sloppy security, poor inventory management and

inadequate measurements. Then there is the virtually nonexistent security at

nuclear installations that compounds the problem.  The main reason for this lack

of security is that pay an
This is ONLY a preview of the article. If you would like to view the entire document, you must subscribe to Academic Library. Please register below now!









Subscribe to Academic Library
When you subscribe to the Academic Library, you get 24-hour access to the online database containing full-text articles written by thousands of scholarly students. For only $8.95 per month, you receive unlimited monthly access to view and download all of our 40,000 articles available online. That is less than the price of one textbook!
This price includes:

24-hours-a-day, 7 days a week unlimited access on any computer with Internet access
Complete access to all 40,000 articles, essays, and research papers
Ability to view and download virtually unlimited number of documents
Ability to browse through perfectly arranged catalog of articles
Superior search and relevancy ranking techniques using Google SiteSearch and our local search engine
Instant access to the online database after registration


You can pay by credit card, checking account. You get instant access after registration:


You will be billed $ 8.95 every 30 days (recurring billing) starting on the day you subscribe.

Your credit card will automatically be renewed for your convenience until you cancel.




If you are already registered, please click here to login.