December 2013

Nuclear Weapons 54 - European Union Studying Procendures to Prevent Diversion of Nulcear Materials

             The European Commission (E.C.) has put out a request for proposals for a study of European Union (EU) security measures that are intended to prevent the diversion of nuclear materials from peaceful applications to military applications. The E.C. has a budget of twenty eight million and one hundred and sixty two nuclear inspectors. In 2012, the E.C. carried out over a thousand inspections and reviewed over a million and a half documents supplied by nuclear power plant operators.

Nuclear Weapons 53 - Russia and the U.S. Tensions

          My last couple of blog posts had to do with the Stuxnet computer worm and the Iranian nuclear program. The Saudis, the Iranians and the Israelis are engaged in a complex conflict over the possibility of an Iranian nuclear weapons program. Unfortunately, there is another nuclear problem in the same part of the world. Pakistan and India have gone to war three times since they were created in 1949. They both possess nuclear weapons and have threatened to use them.

Nuclear Weapons 52 - India and Pakistan

          My last couple of blog posts had to do with the Stuxnet computer worm and the Iranian nuclear program. The Saudis, the Iranians and the Israelis are engaged in a complex conflict over the possibility of an Iranian nuclear weapons program. Unfortunately, there is another nuclear problem in the same part of the world. Pakistan and India have gone to war three times since they were created in 1949. They both possess nuclear weapons and have threatened to use them.

Nuclear Weapons 51 - Iran and Israel 5 - Stuxnet 3

           Yesterday I blogged about another variant of the Stuxnet computer worm that infiltrated Iranian control computers and damaged centrifuges being used to enrich uranium. My blog post today is going to deal with Iranian speculation that Saudi Arabia and Israel are collaborating on a new cyber attack aimed at further disrupting the Iranian nuclear program.

Nuclear Weapons 50 - Iran and Israel 4 - Stuxnet 2

          I have blogged about the Stuxnet worm, a computer program that infiltrated the computers controlling the Iranian centrifuges that are being used to enrich uranium. The Stuxnet worm that was revealed in 2010 allowed the centrifuges to spin faster than they should and caused them to break down. It has recently been revealed that the Stuxnet that is well known is not the first such worm released to infect the Iranian control systems.

Nuclear Reactors 96 - Regulatory Failure at the Japanese Atomic Energy Agency

            I have often remarked in posts about Fukushima how lax the Japanese Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA). The Agency is entirely to friendly and forgiving of the industry that it is supposed to be regulating. This phenomena, known as "regulatory capture" is not limited to Japan. It seems to be endemic among the nations that have major nuclear industries. There have recently been several new stories about the failures of the JAEA.

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