Russia, US increase nuclear cooperation

WASHINGTON, May 9 (UPI) -- U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said Thursday Russian and American nuclear specialists will work jointly on improving security for industrial and medical radiation sources.

Speaking at a news conference with Alexander Rumyanstev, Minister of Atomic Energy in Russia, Abraham said the bilateral task force will study the threat posed by such isotopes and how to decrease their vulnerability to terrorism. Existing funds from the Energy Department's nonproliferation budget will help launch the program, he said.

"This effort will be a logical extension of the work we're already doing together on protecting nuclear materials in the Russian Federation," Abraham said. "This has been a highly successful program, but Sept. 11 has made clear to both Russia and the United States that more needs to be done."

The main area of concern with the radiation sources is their possible use in radiological weapons, where something other than a nuclear explosion is used to spread radioactive contamination among a civilian populace. Casualties from an isotope-dusted conventional explosive or other attack would likely be light, but guidelines on radiation exposure, as well as public misconceptions and fears, could prompt the long-term abandonment of contaminated areas.

Such sources are used frequently in Russia, especially for remote wilderness facilities, Rumyanstev said, and he welcomed the opportunity to work with Abraham.

"All our strategic aims at using nuclear technologies are in sync," Rumyanstev said through an interpreter. "They are in line with our times, they support the process of disarmament and the use of nuclear materials for peaceful purposes."

The two countries' efforts to better account for and control Russian materials have improved markedly since Sept. 11, Rumyanstev said. The cooperation is paying off, Abraham said.

"We now expect to complete the work of protecting some 600 tons of fissile material by the year 2008, a full two years earlier than we expected at this time last year," Abraham said.

The bilateral task force will be very useful, as long as it is not used as an excuse to stall further action, said Henry Kelly, president of the Federation of American Scientists.

"They've got to start somewhere, and there's a lot of work to be done on both sides," Kelly told United Press International. "There's a lot of shared technology we can talk about -- tracking the movement of materials, monitoring ports of entry, and so on."

Abraham said the United States would also restart a program for purchasing Russian plutonium-238, a non-weapons-grade isotope used in applications such as providing electrical power for spacecraft.