The European Commission and the US Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) issued a joint statement on Wednesday 22 May at the International Conference on Nuclear Security (ICONS) aimed at strengthening the security of radioactive sources to prevent these materials from being used in terrorist acts and joint exercises, according to a press release.
The statement builds on existing US and EU programmes to strengthen the capabilities of national and international partners for the security of radioactive sources in use, storage and transport.
It underlines the commitment of the EU and the United States to assist States in establishing and maintaining national nuclear security regimes for radioactive materials and to support the role of the International Energy Agency.
“Hospitals, research laboratories, and industrial facilities that use radioactive materials are all open civilian facilities and can be vulnerable to adversaries seeking to acquire radioactive sources for use in radiological dispersal devices or ‘dirty bombs’”, the text says.
Link to the statement: https://aeur.eu/f/ccx (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)