Protecting Nuclear Weapons Material in Russia (1999)

Summary: A major technical impediment confronting a nation or group bent on developing nuclear weapons is the difficulty of obtaining the necessary direct-use material. A minimum of a few kilograms of plutonium or several times that amount of highly enriched uranium (HEU) is required, with the quantity depending on the composition of the material, type of weapon, and sophistication of the design. Russia is estimated to have approximately 675 metric tons of such material outside nuclear weapons (75 metric tons of plutonium and 600 metric tons of HEU) at a variety of institutions, much of which is protected by only limited security measures. It is in the national security interest of the United States to join with Russia to strengthen the protection of this material. This report contains many recommendation to address these and related issues.