U.S. Department of Energy, Defense Programs, activities to support the safe, secure dismantlement of nuclear weapons in the Former Soviet Union

Conference · Thu Dec 30 23:00:00 EST 1993

OSTI ID:61380

Turner, J

In September 1991 President Bush announced sweeping cuts in the US nuclear weapon stockpile as well as changes in deployment to remove significant numbers of weapons from alert status and to return to the US for storage many weapons formerly based abroad in US sites. In October 1991 President Gorbachev announced similar moves for the Soviet Union. Even though the Gorbachev announcement represented a substantial step forward in reducing tension between the US and the Soviet Union, the US continued to be concerned about the deteriorating situation in the Soviet Union and the prospects for internal stability. As a result, in November 1991 the Administration began talks with the Soviets in a number of areas including field disablement of nuclear weapons to prevent unauthorized use, emergency response in the event of a weapons accident, and command and control of nuclear weapons. The Nunn-Lugar legislation assured assistance to the Soviet Union in the safe, secure dismantlement (SSD) of weapons to implement the Gorbachev commitment and in the development of measures to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The Department of Energy (DOE) is supporting and collaborating with the Department of Defense (DOD) in several areas due to the DOE responsibilities for developing, assembling, and dismantling US warheads and as the custodian of the nuclear materials stockpile. Russia, as the successor state to the Soviet Union, controls the nuclear weapons of the Former Soviet Union. Thus, DOE`s nuclear weapon and nuclear materials expertise are being applied particularly to Russia. However, the DOE is also providing assistance to Belarus and is prepared to assist Ukraine and Kazakhstan as well if agreements can be reached. In this paper, the DOE SSD activities in support of DOD as the US Executive Agent will be discussed. Two areas will not be covered, namely, DOD activities and the purchase of highly enriched uranium.

• OSTI ID: 61380
• Report Number(s): CONF-930749--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

35 ARMS CONTROL
45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
ARMOR
CONTAINERS
COOPERATION
DESIGN
EMERGENCY PLANS
LEGISLATION
NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY
NUCLEAR WEAPONS DISMANTLEMENT
PHYSICAL PROTECTION
POLITICAL ASPECTS
PROTECTIVE CLOTHING
RAILROAD CARS
RUSSIAN FEDERATION
STORAGE FACILITIES
US DOD
US DOE