Issue Briefs
Regulating Japanese Nuclear Power in the Wake of the Fukushima Daiichi Accident
May 2013 - The 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was preventable. The Great East Japan earthquake and the tsunami that followed it were unprecedented events in recent history, but they were not altogether unforeseeable. Stronger regulation across the nuclear power industry could have prevented many of the worst outcomes at Fukushima Daiichi and will be needed to prevent future accidents.
Japan’s Role as Leader for Nuclear Nonproliferation
December 2012 - A country with few natural resources, first Japan began to develop nuclear power technologies in 1954. Nuclear energy assisted with Japanese economic development and reconstruction post World War II. However, with the fear of lethal ash and radioactive fallout and the lingering effects from the 2011 accident at Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, there are many concerns related to Japanese nonproliferation, security and nuclear policy.
Sanctions and Nonproliferation in North Korea and Iran
June 2012 - The international responses to Iranian and North Korean proliferation bear many similarities, particularly in the use of economic sanctions as a central tool of policy. This issue brief contains an comparative analysis of U.S. policy toward Iran and North Korea.
A Nuclear- Free Mirage
September 2011 - The issue brief takes a deeper look at the nuclear policies of the Obama administration—polices that Dr. Norris terms “radical” with regard to their vision of a nuclear weapon free world.
The B61 Life-Extension Program: Increasing NATO Nuclear Capability and Precision Low-Yield Strikes
June 2011 - A modified U.S. nuclear bomb currently under design will have improved military capabilities compared with older weapons and increase the targeting capability of NATO’s nuclear arsenal. The B61-12, the product of a planned 30-year life extension and consolidation of four existing versions of the B61 into one, will be equipped with a new guidance system to increase its accuracy.
Using Enrichment Capacity to Estimate Iran’s Breakout Potential
January 2011 - While diplomats and officials claim Iran has slowed down its nuclear drive, new analysis shows that Iran's enrichment capacity grew during 2010.
Will Iran Give Up Twenty Percent Enrichment
July 2010 - Since February 2010, Iran has been enriching uranium to concentrations of 20 percent U-235. A stockpile of 130 kg of 20 percent enriched uranium would reduce, by more than half, Iran's time to develop a bomb. A key unknown is whether Tehran will stop the higher enrichment and, if so, under what circumstances.
Recommendations for the U.S. Delegation to the NPT Review Conference
April 2010 - The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) has endured as the cornerstone of the non-proliferation regime and remains the only legally binding multilateral agreement on nuclear disarmament.
The Twenty Percent Solution: Breaking the Iranian Stalemate
April 2010 - President Obama’s deadline to address concerns about Tehran's nuclear program passed at the end of 2009, so the White House is moving to harsher sanctions. But the U.S. is having trouble rallying the needed international support because Iranian intentions remain ambiguous.
Eight Recommendations for Improving Transparency in US Arms Transfers
January 2010 - Transparency is essential for effective congressional and public oversight of arms exports. Without complete and accurate data on the quantity, type and recipients of exported defense articles and services, it is impossible to assess the extent to which arms transfers further national security and foreign policy.
Calculating the Capacity at Fordow
December 2009 - While the construction and the announcement of Iran’s Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, does not prove an intention to deceive the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it raises troubling questions. The facility is too small for a commercial enrichment facility, raising concerns that it might be intended as a covert facility to produce highly enriched uranium for weapons.
