Global identification and monitoring of UF6cylinders

• DOI: 10.1179/1746510911y.0000000003
• Publication Date: 2011-07-11T11:17:12Z
• Authors: J White; J McCowan; M Whitaker; M Laughter

AbstractAn expansion of global commerce in nuclear material will accompany the forecast worldwide renaissance in nuclear power. The increased commerce amplifies the risk that uranium hexafluoride (UF6) in cylinders could be lost as a result of an accident or mishandling, stolen by non-state actors (e.g. terrorists), or diverted by nation states/governments. While there are very few problems with UF6 cylinder shipments, the complicated logistics of international truck, rail and sea transport can increase difficulty in locating shipments at any given time and significantly delay transport and reporting. The recent revelations about undeclared enrichment plants, such as Qom in Iran and the newly revealed 2000-centrifuge plant in North Korea, have underscored the threats of undeclared production of low enriched uranium and the attempted diversion in which low enriched uranium could be transported to a relatively small, clandestine plant and enriched up to weapons grade (or weapons usable) highly enriched uran...