A man parked a van in the middle of a big city. In the rear of the vehicle rests a crude nuclear bomb, similar to the United States dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. The terrorist is far enough away and activates a remote detonator. The clocks are stopped. Thousands of people die on the spot and many others suffer the rest of their lives. There is the argument of a new movie, but a scenario that some experts invited to the Second Nuclear Security Summit which concluded yesterday in Seoul considered "plausible capabilities of a well organized terrorist group."
Avoid this chilling scenario a reality, or any of its many variants, is the reason for the summit that met in Seoul during the last 48 hours, the leaders of the world's major powers, led by President Barack Obama. "It is undeniable that the threat still exists. There are still many evil actors in search of these hazardous materials and hazardous materials these are still available in some places. It would not take more than a handful (...) to kill hundreds of thousands of innocent people. It is no exaggeration but a reality we face, "he said yesterday the White House resident. It was Obama himself who in 2009 pushed the idea of uniting efforts to minimize the chances that terrorists will get attacked with nuclear material or nuclear facilities. He did convene annual meeting of Nuclear Safety, whose first edition was held in Washington in 2010.
In the U.S. capital was succeeded in carrying some international agreements. For example, it was agreed to minimize the use of enriched uranium, material that is not used only in the defense industry and it would be the most dangerous in case of falling into the hands of terrorist groups.
The second summit, which concluded yesterday in Seoul, served to reinforce this commitment. The agreement was finalized yesterday by a joint 13-point which noted "substantial progress". Ratings aside, the fact is that this time put more emphasis on security protocols on civilian facilities: research centers, nuclear plants and transportation vehicles nuclear and radioactive materials.
And, according to experts, it is much easier to steal or detonate uranium enriched in a research facility or a nuclear plant in an array. This is an important issue when you consider that during 2011 a total of 60 countries (including countries of the caliber of Bangladesh) expressed interest in raising its first atomic plant. And some, like India or China, they hope to double its capacity in a few years. All this despite the Fukushima accident.
Of course, it remains concerned about the situation where the arsenals are left by the former Soviet Union after its implosion, but their control appears to have improved greatly in recent years. The threat is not confined only to the Russian orbit, but could come from elsewhere. According associations such as the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a total of 32 armies have some kind of dangerous nuclear material and not all protected with the same zeal. Is concerned, for example, the Pakistani arsenal, an extremely corrupt country where the Secret Service in the past have had close contacts with terrorist groups. Also scared of what might happen to the "opaque" Indian nuclear weapons.
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