ANS: Nuclear technology must not contribute to spread of nuclear weapons
ANS, a not-for-profit scientific and educational society of more than 11,000 scientists, engineers and educators from universities, government and private laboratories and industry, stresses that limiting the spread of nuclear weapons is a major challenge facing the United States and the global community.
"We believe one of the important aspects of the development of nuclear technology is nonproliferation, and for the public to have confidence that the use of nuclear technology will not lead to the spread of nuclear weapons," said Mel Buckner, chair of a special ANS committee on nuclear nonproliferation. "That was the primary basis for the development of this policy.
"In a strong nuclear enterprise, it is important for the United States to provide leadership in the area of technical development for the future, and to ensure we have strong influence with other countries as the use of nuclear technology spreads, especially in the area of nuclear power," according to Buckner.
Successfully addressing the current and evolving proliferation threats requires that the United States work effectively with both industrialized and developing nations, and with established international institutions such as the International Atomic Energy Agency, states the ANS position.
"A strong domestic nuclear infrastructure will greatly enhance the continued ability of the United States to work effectively with other countries in meeting the proliferation challenges," says the position statement.
The ANS position also states:
- Nuclear science and technology can be applied for peaceful purposes in a manner that fully supports and is compatible with achieving desired nonproliferation goals, as embodied in the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). The NPT was ratified in 1970, and it requires nations to submit to international safeguard measures to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.
- Large stockpiles of weapons-grade plutonium and high-enriched uranium, particularly those in the former Soviet Union, pose a new type of proliferation threat to the world community. The United States must provide the necessary attention and resources to continue efforts to secure these materials and that they are transformed into more proliferation-resistant forms.
- The United States should continue to explore and develop the applications of technologies that will further enhance the proliferation resistance of nuclear power systems.
- The United States should continue to invest in the development of technologies to monitor and safeguard against the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
To find more information on this and other position statements of the American Nuclear Society, go to its web site at www.ans.org/pi/ps/.
