GSN: U.S. Senators Await Obama Plan for Measuring Nuclear Security Progress

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Daily News on Nuclear, Biological & Chemical Weapons, Terrorism and Related Issues Friday, July 6, 2012

TOP STORIES 7/6/2012 U.S. SENATORS AWAIT OBAMA PLAN FOR MEASURING NUCLEAR SECURITY PROGRESS Douglas P. Guarino Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers on the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee are awaiting a plan from the National Nuclear Security Administration for how to measure progress toward President Obama's goal of securing all vulnerable nuclear materials within a four-year time period. JAPANESE PANEL FINDS FUKUSHIMA ACCIDENT WAS \"MANMADE\" AND \"PREVENTABLE\" Elaine M. Grossman Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON -- A Japanese legislative inquiry on Thursday found that last year's disaster at the Fukushima nuclear power plant was "manmade" and could have been prevented. NRC BOARD SET TO EXAMINE COMMERCIAL LASER-ENRICHMENT PLANT PROPOSAL A controversial proposal to establish a commercial laser-enrichment facility in North Carolina will be heard at a final hearing next week by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board. NUCLEAR 7/6/2012 IRAN FLOATS POTENTIAL NUCLEAR OFFERS AT U.N. Iran's delegation to the United Nations on Tuesday presented U.S. atomic specialists with several possible proposals aimed at resolving a long-running dispute over Tehran's atomic activities, a participant in the meeting said in a Friday report by the London Guardian. NORTH KOREA REJECTS REPORTS OF HEU WARHEAD MASS-PRODUCTION The North Korean government on Friday said Japanese news organizations were wrong to assert that former Pyongyang leader Kim Jong Il had authorized the large-scale production of uranium-based warheads prior to his death in December, the Yonhap News Agency reported. DELIVERY SYSTEMS 7/6/2012 YARS MISSILE UNITS TO ENTER SERVICE IN RUSSIA Russia has completed a delivery of Yars long-range ballistic missile launchers to the Teikovo missile formation, enabling the Ivanovo region group to fully transition to the system in the middle of this year, Interfax reported on Thursday. TOP RUSSIAN MILITARY OFFICIAL TO TRAVEL TO U.S. FOR ANTIMISSILE TALKS Russia's No.1 military officer is expected to travel soon to the United States for discussions with his U.S. counterpart, Gen. Martin Dempsey, on antimissile matters, ITAR-Tass reported on Thursday. TERRORISM 7/6/2012 DHS DISTRIBUTES OVER $1.3 BILLION IN ANTITERROR, PREPAREDNESS FUNDS The Homeland Security Department late last month released final budget allocations for the current fiscal year for seven anti-terrorism and disaster readiness programs, amounting to more than $1.3 billion in grant appropriations, according to a department release. CHEMICAL 7/6/2012 JAPAN CHARGES MAN OVER 1995 SARIN DEATHS Japan on Friday pressed charges against the last person to be arrested over the lethal 1995 sarin nerve agent attack on the subway of the nation's capital, the Australian Associated Press reported. OTHER 7/6/2012 PALESTINIAN OFFICIALS HAVE QUESTIONS ON ARAFAT'S SPECULATED POLONIUM POISONING Palestinian officials intend to question scientists and medical officials in a first step toward the possible exhumation of the remains of deceased leader Yasser Arafat, after a Swiss laboratory revealed he might have died from polonium poisoning and not a stroke as was originally announced, the Associated Press reported on Thursday. SPECIALISTS PLAY DOWN DANGER FROM CDC BIOLAB AIR SYSTEM GLITCHES Ventilation issues reported at a biodefense study area overseen by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention constituted no apparent danger to the general population, two specialists said in a Tuesday report by the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"The most sensitive technology leak has already occurred and it's that this stuff can work." Henry Sokolski, Nonproliferation Education Policy Center Executive Director, contending that a proposal to build a commercial facility in the United States for enriching uranium with laser technology could prompt other countries to independently study the novel, weapon-sensitive procedure for their own use.

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