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DATE=3/3/99 TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT NUMBER=5-42758 TITLE=THE NUCLEAR THREAT BYLINE= ED WARNER DATELINE= WASHINGTON CONTENT= VOICED AT: WILL BE VOICED THURSDAY INTRODUCTION: AS THE COLD WAR ENDED, SO DID THE THREAT OF RUSSIAN-LAUNCHED NUCLEAR WEAPONS. BUT IT HAS BEEN REPLACED BY ANOTHER, PERHAPS EVEN MORE SERIOUS THREAT: THE SMUGGLING OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS OR KNOW-HOW OUT OF RUSSIA, TO OTHER COUNTRIES INTENT ON BUILDING WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION. IN A SPEECH THIS WEEK [MARCH 2], BILL RICHARDSON, THE U-S SECRETARY OF ENERGY, DESCRIBED THE GROWING THREAT AND AMERICAN EFFORTS TO RESPOND TO IT. V-O-A'S ED WARNER REPORTS HIS VIEWS AND THOSE OF A LEADING ANALYST OF NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION. TEXT: ALL IT TAKES IS A SMALL QUANTITY OF PLUTONIUM THE SIZE OF A SOFTBALL. THAT WOULD MAKE A NUCLEAR BOMB THAT COULD DEVASTATE AN AREA SEVEN TIMES THE SIZE OF HIROSHIMA, THE JAPANESE CITY DESTROYED BY A U-S ATOMIC BOMB IN WORLD WAR TWO. U-S SECRETARY OF ENERGY RICHARDSON MADE THAT POINT TO ILLUSTRATE THE DANGERS OF THE VAST QUANTITY OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS SCATTERED AROUND RUSSIA. THERE ARE 10 SO-CALLED "NUCLEAR CITIES" IN RUSSIA -- AREAS WHERE SOVIET SCIENTISTS LABORED FOR YEARS ON SECRET NUCLEAR PROGRAMS. ANY ONE OF THESE HAS MORE PLUTONIUM THAN THE ENTIRE STOCKPILE OF FRANCE, CHINA AND GREAT BRITAIN COMBINED. MR. RICHARDSON SAID HIS DEPARTMENT IS WORKING INTENSELY TO REDUCE THE DANGER POSED BY THESE ENORMOUS HAZARDS: /// FIRST RICHARDSON ACT /// DOZENS OF DEDICATED [AMERICAN] ENERGY EXPERTS ARE AT WORK IN RUSSIA, INSTALLING BASIC SAFEGUARDS, STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES TO ARRANGE FOR THE LONG-TERM PROTECTION OF THESE WEAPONS-GRADE MATERIALS. OUR RUSSIAN COUNTERPARTS HAVE SHOWN US EXTRAORDINARY GOOD WILL AND COOPERATION. WE NOW ARE COOPERATING AT VIRTUALLY EVERY SINGLE SITE IN RUSSIA THAT STORES OR USES PLUTONIUM AND HIGHLY-ENRICHED URANIUM. /// END ACT /// SECRETARY RICHARDSON HAS IDENTIFIED THE BIGGEST SECURITY THREAT TO THE UNITED STATES, SAYS JOSEPH CIRINCIONE, SENIOR ASSOCIATE OF THE NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION PROJECT AT THE CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT IN WASHINGTON: /// FIRST CIRINCIONE ACT /// THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY HAS TAKEN THE LEAD IN A NUMBER OF AREAS, TRYING TO LOCK UP AND SECURE THE NUCLEAR MATERIALS AND THE NUCLEAR WEAPONS THEMSELVES, FIND JOBS FOR SOME OF THE [RUSSIAN] NUCLEAR SCIENTISTS AND TECHNICIANS. BUT THEIR PROGRAMS ARE UNDER-FUNDED. THEY ARE SLOW IN EXECUTION. THE SIZE OF THE PROBLEM IS MASSIVE, AND AS WELL-INTENTIONED AS D-O-E [DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY] PROGRAMS ARE, I AM AFRAID THEY ARE JUST NOT AT PRESENT UP TO THE TASK. /// END ACT /// MR. CIRINCIONE SAYS THE RUSSIAN FINANCIAL CRISIS HAS ADDED TO THE DANGER. SCIENTISTS, TECHNICIANS AND GUARDS AT NUCLEAR FACILITIES HAVE NOT BEEN PAID IN MONTHS, AND ARE GROWING DESPERATE: /// SECOND CIRINCIONE ACT /// WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO DO? ARE THEY GOING TO BE FORCED TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY LOOKING FOR WORK? ARE THEY GOING TO BE ENTICED BY PROMISES OF HIGH SALARIES TO GO TO COUNTRIES LIKE IRAQ OR IRAN OR LIBYA? AND IF SO, WILL THEY BRING MORE THAN THEIR KNOWLEDGE WITH THEM? WILL THEY ACTUALLY BRING THE MATERIAL THAT YOU NEED TO MAKE A BOMB? THAT IS THE NUMBER ONE WORRY WE FACE. /// END ACT /// MR. CIRINCIONE SAYS SOME UKRAINIANS IN THE NUCLEAR INDUSTRY HAVE GONE ABROAD FOR JOBS, AND THERE ARE UNCONFIRMED REPORTS OF RUSSIAN NUCLEAR SCIENTISTS MOVING TO IRAQ AND IRAN. IRANIANS ARE ACTIVELY RECRUITING IN RUSSIA, HANDING OUT BUSINESS CARDS TO LIKELY PROSPECTS. IN HIS SPEECH, SECRETARY RICHARDSON DESCRIBED THE LESSER BUT STILL SERIOUS DANGER OF CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS. HE NOTED THE LABORATORIES IN HIS DEPARTMENT ARE DEVELOPING EVER-SMALLER INSTRUMENTS CAPABLE OF DETECTING THE RELEASE OF BIOLOGICAL OR CHEMICAL AGENTS, AND THUS ALLOWING TIME TO COUNTERACT THEM: /// SECOND RICHARDSON ACT /// WITHIN THREE YEARS, I WANT OUR LABS TO DEVELOP BIOLOGICAL-AGENT DETECTORS SMALL ENOUGH TO FIT INTO THE HANDS OF A FIREMAN OR A COP THAT TELLS WITHIN SECONDS IF A CHEM-BIO AGENT IS PRESENT AND WHAT KIND OF AGENT IT IS, SUCH AS ANTHRAX OR A PLAGUE VIRUS. WITH THE RIGHT DETECTION TOOLS, HEALTH AND SAFETY OFFICIALS CAN ACT QUICKLY TO TREAT VICTIMS AND PROTECT OTHERS FROM EXPOSURE. /// END ACT /// MR. CIRINCIONE SAYS THAT KIND OF PROGRESS IS POSSIBLE. HE HAS GREAT RESPECT FOR THE AMERICAN LABORATORIES, AND AGREES WITH MR. RICHARDSON THAT A POTENTIAL MEDICAL NIGHTMARE COULD BE TURNED INTO A MANAGEABLE PROBLEM. (SIGNED) NEB/EW/WTW 03-Mar-99 6:49 PM EST (2349 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .