May 26, 2004
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Report Urges Tighter Nuclear Controls
By Peter Slevin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, May 24, 2004; Page A02
Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. wondered aloud one day in 2002 whether someone could build an atomic weapon from parts available on the open market.
A few months later, leaders of the government's nuclear laboratories returned to the soundproof Senate meeting room with a workable nuclear weapon, missing only the fissile material.
The relative ease with which U.S. scientists built an explosive nuclear weapon illustrates the need to secure plutonium and highly enriched uranium scattered in armories and research sites around the world.
Plans were announced six years ago to destroy 68 metric tons of plutonium stripped from bombs and warheads in the United States and Russia, but the project remains stalled.
Despite improvements in Russia, visitors continue to see broken detectors, decaying fences, vulnerable seals and paper records never designed for careful monitoring. Fissile material exists in "hundreds of buildings in more than 40 countries."
Evaluating an extreme case, they point to Pakistan, which has perfected nuclear weapons, as a potential target of terrorists with potent weapons and political connections.
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