More than 50 leaders from nuclear organizations and governments around the world will convene at the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit today and begin deliberating efforts to help keep nuclear materials safe.
The event builds on a similar summit in 2010 in Washington, D.C., where member countries agreed to work further on securing vulnerable nuclear material, maintaining security at their nuclear sites, and assisting each other with nuclear security. President Barack Obama proposed the event in 2009, describing nuclear terrorism as the most serious threat to international security and setting a goal to secure vulnerable nuclear material around the world within four years.
The International Atomic Energy Agency defines nuclear security as "the means and ways of preventing, detecting and responding to sabotage, theft and unauthorized access to or illegal transfer of nuclear material and other radioactive substances, as well as their associated facilities." The issue became a prominent concern for international organizations like the IAEA after the collapse of the Soviet Union and again after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States. This week’s summit will follow up on the agreements set at the last summit and continue international talks on improving nuclear security worldwide.
Businesses leaders in nuclear power also hosted an industry summit last week in advance of the event. In a statement, Nuclear Energy Institute CEO Marvin Fertel said, “The working groups at the summit addressed many important issues including international security of nuclear energy technology and materials, cybersecurity, the availability of life-saving medical radioisotopes, and international proliferation controls. There is a shared commitment among the global industry to ensure the security of nuclear materials. The active participation of those nations involved in the production and management of nuclear materials, along with those experienced in nuclear energy generation, is critical to meeting this commitment.”