The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), which has unique expertise in nuclear weapons and nuclear material, plays a key role in the U.S. government’s comprehensive effort to combat terrorism. Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, NNSA has doubled spending on nuclear nonproliferation programs. NNSA works with over 100 countries to fight against nuclear proliferation and terrorism, and has successfully completed the following:

Secured Nuclear Material and Warheads

• Secured enough nuclear material for hundreds of warheads, by completing upgrades at more than 85 percent of the Russian nuclear warhead sites of concern, including all 39 Russian Navy nuclear sites and all 25 Russian Strategic Rocket Forces sites, with work underway at nine 12th Main Directorate sites to be completed by the end of 2008.
• Secured 178 buildings containing hundreds of metric tons of weapons-useable Russian nuclear material at 11 Russian Navy reactor fuel sites, seven Rosatom Weapons Complex sites, six civilian (non-Rosatom) sites, and 12 Rosatom civilian sites.
• Secured 15 nuclear material buildings outside of Russia.
• Returned almost 590 kilograms (enough for over 20 nuclear weapons) of Soviet-origin highly enriched uranium from vulnerable sites around the world.
• Returned 1,140 kilograms (enough for over 45 nuclear weapons) of U.S.-origin highly enriched uranium.
• Removed over 140 kilograms (enough for five nuclear weapons) of other highly enriched uranium from vulnerable sites around the world.
• Converted into low enriched uranium almost 10 metric tons of Russian excess highly enriched uranium (not from its weapons program).
• Helped to eliminate Libya’s nuclear weapons program by removing 1.8 metric tons of uranium hexafluoride and over 500 metric tons of centrifuge components and related materials.
• Reached agreement with Russia on principles to sustain security upgrades after 2012, when Russia assumes full responsibility for security for its own sites.
• Reduced weapons-grade plutonium production by 50% at the two remaining Seversk reactors and reached agreement with Russia for reactor shut-down by June 2008, six months early; plan to close the Zheleznogorsk reactor by 2009, a year ahead of schedule, thereby eliminating a combined total of 1.2 MT of plutonium annually and permanently shutting-down the last remaining plutonium production reactors in Russia.

Protected “Dirty Bomb” Material

• Recovered over 16,000 radioactive sources in the United States, containing over 175,000 curies.
• Upgraded the physical security at 600 facilities around the world that contained vulnerable, high-risk radioactive material, containing over 9 million curies.

Safeguarded Research Reactors

• Converted 52 research reactors around the world from operating on highly enriched uranium to running on low enriched uranium.
• Shut down four highly enriched uranium civilian research reactors.

Provided Security-Related Training

• Trained over 300 foreign officials every year since the 9/11 terrorist attacks on how to physically protect nuclear material and facilities.
• Trained over 1,000 foreign officials on nuclear material control and accounting methods since 9/11.
• Trained over 5,600 domestic and nearly 8,000 international export control enforcement officials on strategic trade controls and identification of weapons of mass destruction-related goods since the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Prevented Nuclear Smuggling and Transfer of Nuclear Expertise

• Emphasized long-term research efforts to develop improved technologies to detect weapons of mass destruction and nuclear proliferation around the world.
• Installed Megaports radiation detection equipment operational in 12 countries and with various stages of implementation in ports in 17 other locations.
• Equipped 150 sites with radiation detection equipment at international borders, airports and seaports in Russia, Greece, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Slovenia, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Turkmenistan and Ukraine.
• Reached agreement with Russia to complete the installation of radiation detection equipment at all Russian border crossings by 2011 (6 years ahead of schedule), building on the 117 crossings already equipped.
• Engaged thousands of former weapons of mass destruction scientists and engineers at institutes across the former Soviet Union, and in Libya and Iraq, facilitating the creation of over 5,000 jobs.
• Completed over 7,000 reviews of export license applications/requests related to material, technology and equipment of weapons of mass destruction concern in 2007.

Downblended or Disposed of Nuclear Material

• Monitored the downblending of over 320 metric tons (enough for 12,800 nuclear weapons) worth of Russian highly enriched uranium, which now provides 10 percent of U.S. electricity.
• Downblended over 92 metric tons (enough for more than 3,600 nuclear weapons) of surplus U.S. highly enriched uranium into low enriched uranium for peaceful use as nuclear reactor fuel, with an additional 13 metric tons packaged and shipped for downblending (total of nearly 105 metric tons).
• Agreed to dispose of 68 metric tons (enough for 8,500 nuclear weapons) of U.S. and Russian weapon-grade plutonium by converting it into mixed-oxide fuel for commercial nuclear power reactors and also began construction of the U.S. Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility.

Maintained Leading Emergency Response Capabilities and Training
NNSA has robust emergency capabilities with some of the world’s top professional scientists, engineers, pilots, medical personnel, technicians and other leading nuclear experts.  Using extremely sophisticated laboratories and equipment, NNSA teams are ready to respond to and resolve nuclear and radiological terrorist incidents, including supporting other government agencies, and deploying search, analysis and medical teams.

• NNSA participated in 80 national and international exercises in 2007 to maintain its elite response standards.
• NNSA deployed multiple field teams to conduct 35 high profile special events and 97 emergency responses around the world in support of the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of State.  These include State of the Union, Super Bowl, United Nations General Assembly, and numerous deployments and search operations.
• NNSA worked with emergency response organizations in over 39 countries and 9 international organizations to address radiological emergencies and nuclear incidents.  The international cooperation involves technical exchanges, mutual training events, jointly conducted exercises and emergency management assistance.
• NNSA established a national radiological “reachback” capability, in cooperation with the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO), to provide first responders with access to broader expert analysis of detector readings.
• Trained 32 of the 52 certified National Guard Civil Support Teams (CST) in emergency response.
• Assisted DNDO in the development of an initiative to increase the state and local first responder detection capabilities within key US cities.  New York City was the first city to field a robust local detection capability through this initiative.
• Established a maritime response team to conduct sophisticated radiation measurements on ships at sea.

For more information on NNSA's emergency response capabilities, click here.