News Archive
Wayne Glines, Health Physics News Contributing Editor
The National Academies announces the publication of two new reports.
Nuclear Terrorism: Assessment of US Strategies to Prevent, Counter, and Respond to Weapons of Mass Destruction
A public report release webinar will be held 18 June 2024, 2–3 pm ET for Nuclear Terrorism: Assessment of US Strategies to Prevent, Counter, and Respond to Weapons of Mass Destruction.
For nearly eight decades, the world has been navigating the dangers of the nuclear age. Despite Cold War tensions and the rise of global terrorism, nuclear weapons have not been used in conflict since Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Efforts such as strategic deterrence, arms control and nonproliferation agreements, and the US-led global counterterrorism have helped to keep nuclear incidents at bay. However, the nation's success to date in countering nuclear terrorism does not come with a guarantee–success often carries the risk that other challenges will siphon away attention and resources and can lead to the perception that the threat no longer exists.
This report found that US efforts to counter nuclear or radiological terrorism are not keeping pace with the evolving threat landscape. The US government should maintain a strategic focus and effort on combatting terrorism across the national security community in coordination with international partners; state, local, tribal and territorial authorities, the national laboratories; universities and colleges; and civil society. Developing and sustaining adequate nuclear incident response and recovery capabilities at the local and state levels will likely require significant new investments in resources and empowerment of local response from Federal Emergency Management Agency, working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, and National Institutes of Health.
Join the livestream public webinar
Chemical Terrorism: Assessment of US Strategies in the Era of Great Power Competition
Domestic and foreign violent extremist organizations, or terrorist groups, have caused a greater amount of harm with chemical agents than with biological or radiological weapons. The United States capacity and capability to identify, prevent, counter, and respond adequately to chemical threats is established by the strategies, policies, and laws enacted across multiple levels of government. While the number of chemical terrorism incidents has risen and fallen over time, there is no empirical or analytical indication that the threat is disappearing.
Chemical Terrorism: Assessment of US Strategies in the Era of Great Power Competition comes at a time when the nation's highest-level strategies have shifted from focusing primarily on violent extremist organizations to focusing more on Great Power Competition. This shift in relative perceived threat and consequent prioritization will impact efforts against chemical terrorism and, in turn, affect funding priorities. Revised risk assessments are needed to reprioritize risks guided by new strategies so strategy-aligned budgets can be created. The report recommends weapons of mass destruction budgets be aligned with evolving priorities and incentivize activities that transition promising research to operations.