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Better Foreign Cooperation Needed to Secure Vulnerable Nuclear 
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United States Government Accountability Office: 
GAO: 

Report to the Chairman and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Energy and 
Water Development, Committee on Appropriations, House of 
Representatives: 

December 2010: 

Nuclear Nonproliferation: 

Comprehensive U.S. Planning and Better Foreign Cooperation Needed to 
Secure Vulnerable Nuclear Materials Worldwide: 

GAO-11-227: 

GAO Highlights: 

Highlights of GAO-11-227, a report to the Chairman and Ranking Member, 
Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, Committee on 
Appropriations, House of Representatives. 

Why GAO Did This Study: 

In April 2009, President Obama announced an international initiative 
to secure all vulnerable nuclear materials worldwide within 4 years. 
Nonproliferation programs administered by the National Nuclear 
Security Administration (NNSA) are working to secure nuclear materials 
in Russia and other countries. GAO assessed (1) U.S. governmentwide 
efforts to implement the President’s 4-year nuclear material security 
initiative; (2) the status and challenges, if any, of NNSA’s nuclear 
security programs in Russia; and (3) NNSA efforts to secure nuclear 
materials in countries other than Russia. To address these issues, GAO 
analyzed U.S. nuclear security strategies and plans and interviewed 
U.S. and Russian government officials. This report summarizes the 
findings of GAO’s classified report on securing nuclear materials 
worldwide. 

What GAO Found: 

NSC officials have approved a governmentwide strategy for the 
President’s 4-year global nuclear material security initiative that 
describes the scope and objectives of the interagency effort and 
identifies the main efforts by U.S. agencies and programs to support 
the initiative. However, this interagency strategy lacks specific 
details concerning how the initiative will be implemented, including 
the identity of vulnerable foreign nuclear material sites and 
facilities to be addressed, agencies and programs responsible for 
addressing each site, planned activities at each location, potential 
challenges and strategies for overcoming those obstacles, anticipated 
timelines, and cost estimates. As a result, key details associated 
with the initiative are unclear, including its overall estimated cost, 
time frame, and scope of planned work. 

Three NNSA nuclear nonproliferation programs GAO reviewed—-the MPC&A 
program, the Materials Consolidation and Conversion (MCC) program, and 
the Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI)-—have made varying 
degrees of progress in securing Russian nuclear warheads and 
materials. While the MPC&A program has made considerable progress 
securing Russia’s nuclear warhead and material facilities, the MCC and 
GTRI programs have had more limited success achieving their objectives 
in Russia. Moreover, the future of these efforts in Russia is unclear 
because of questionable high-level Russian political commitment to 
nuclear security cooperation with the United States. Each of these 
three programs also faces implementation challenges. The MPC&A 
program, in particular, faces challenges in successfully completing 
upgrades against insider and outsider threats at some Russian nuclear 
material facilities and in transitioning responsibility to Russia for 
sustaining MPC&A systems. Because of the time required to address 
these challenges, NNSA is unlikely to meet a deadline under current 
U.S. law requiring Russia to assume sole responsibility for sustaining 
MPC&A by January 1, 2013, and MPC&A program activities will need to 
continue in Russia beyond the statutory deadline. 

In addition to its efforts in Russia, NNSA is working with other 
countries on issues related to the security of weapon-usable nuclear 
materials. In two countries believed to have large nuclear material 
stockpiles—-China and India—-political sensitivities have limited NNSA’
s efforts in both nations to the relatively noncontroversial exchange 
of nuclear security best practices, training, and demonstration 
projects instead of implementing MPC&A activities directly at nuclear 
sites. NNSA is also seeking to accelerate the removal of weapon-usable 
nuclear materials from other priority countries through the GTRI 
program, including key countries that made new commitments at the 
April 2010 Nuclear Security Summit to relinquish or reduce their 
weapon-usable nuclear material stockpiles. In particular, NNSA 
officials reported progress in negotiations with several nations-—
including Ukraine and South Africa-—following the summit for the 
removal of some highly enriched uranium located in those countries. 

What GAO Recommends: 

GAO suggests that Congress consider extending the deadline for NNSA to 
complete Material Protection, Control, and Accounting (MPC&A) program 
activities in Russia. GAO recommends that the Department of Energy 
(DOE) and NNSA take several actions regarding three nonproliferation 
program efforts in Russia, such as clarifying the remaining scope and 
costs of MPC&A work in Russia. GAO also recommends that the National 
Security Council (NSC) lead interagency development of a more detailed 
implementation plan for the President’s 4-year initiative. DOE and 
NNSA agreed with the recommendations. NSC did not comment on GAO’s 
recommendations. 

View [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-227] or key 
components. For more information, contact Gene Aloise at (202) 512-
3841 or aloisee@gao.gov. 

[End of section] 

Contents: 

Letter: 

Background: 

A Governmentwide Strategy for the President's 4-Year Global Nuclear 
Material Security Initiative Has Been Developed, but Details 
Concerning the Initiative's Overall Cost, Time Frame, and Scope of 
Work Are Unclear: 

NNSA's Nuclear Security Programs Have Made Varying Levels of Progress 
in Russia and Face Challenges That Are Delaying Program Implementation 
and Could Increase Future Program Costs: 

NNSA's Efforts to Improve Nuclear Material Security in Other Countries 
Are Under Way, but Progress Is Mixed: 

Conclusions: 

Matter for Congressional Consideration: 

Recommendations for Executive Action: 

Agency Comments and Our Evaluation: 

Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology: 

Appendix II: NNSA National-Level Project Areas for MPC&A 
Sustainability of Russian Nuclear Materials: 

Appendix III: Seven Elements of MPC&A Sustainability and Selected 
Indicators: 

Appendix IV: Comments from the Department of Energy and National 
Nuclear Security Administration: 

Appendix V: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments: 

Figure: 

Figure 1: NNSA Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation: 

Abbreviations: 

CAEA: China Atomic Energy Authority: 

CTR: Cooperative Threat Reduction: 

DOD: Department of Defense: 

DOE: Department of Energy: 

GTRI: Global Threat Reduction Initiative: 

HEU: highly enriched uranium: 

IAEA: International Atomic Energy Agency: 

Kg: kilogram: 

LEU: low-enriched uranium: 

MCC: Material Consolidation and Conversion: 

MNSR: Miniature Neutron Source Reactor: 

MOD: Ministry of Defense: 

MOM: MPC&A operations monitoring: 

MPC&A: Material Protection, Control, and Accounting: 

NMIP: Nuclear Materials Information Program: 

NNSA: National Nuclear Security Administration: 

NRC: Nuclear Regulatory Commission: 

NSC: National Security Council: 

ODNI: Office of the Director of National Intelligence: 

SRF: Strategic Rocket Forces: 

SSNM: special strategic nuclear material: 

UN: United Nations: 

WMD: weapons of mass destruction: 

[End of section] 

United States Government Accountability Office: 
Washington, DC 20548: 

December 15, 2010: 

[End of section] 

The Honorable Peter J. Visclosky: 
Chairman: 
The Honorable Rodney P. Frelinghuysen: 
Ranking Member: 
Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development: 
Committee on Appropriations: 
House of Representatives: 

One of the most serious threats facing the United States and other 
countries is the possibility that other nations or terrorist 
organizations could steal a nuclear warhead or nuclear weapon-usable 
materials from poorly secured stockpiles in various locations around 
the world.[Footnote 1] Terrorists or countries seeking nuclear weapons 
could use as little as 25 kilograms (Kg) of weapon-grade highly 
enriched uranium (HEU) or 8 Kg of plutonium to construct a nuclear 
weapon. To address this threat and related nuclear proliferation 
concerns, the Department of Energy's (DOE) National Nuclear Security 
Administration (NNSA) implements more than 20 nonproliferation 
programs worldwide.[Footnote 2] Among other things, these programs 
include efforts to secure nuclear warheads; protect, consolidate, and 
dispose of weapon-usable nuclear materials and radiological sources; 
[Footnote 3] reduce the risks of nuclear smuggling; research and 
develop nonproliferation technologies; redirect weapons of mass 
destruction (WMD) expertise to peaceful research; and enhance 
international export controls and International Atomic Energy Agency 
(IAEA) nuclear safeguards.[Footnote 4] 

Many of these programs were initiated in the early 1990s, following 
the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and have focused principally on 
improving nuclear security in Russia because of the large size of its 
nuclear complex and its vast nuclear material and weapons stockpiles. 
In 2005, the U.S. and Russian Presidents issued a joint statement in 
Bratislava, Slovakia, on nuclear security cooperation between both 
countries, including accelerating security improvements to Russian 
nuclear material and warhead storage sites. Some NNSA programs are 
winding down as work is completed in Russia--such as the program to 
end Russian production of weapon-grade plutonium--while others are 
planning to continue indefinitely. A major area of continuing focus is 
ensuring the long-term sustainability of U.S.-funded security 
improvements at nuclear facilities in Russia and other countries as 
U.S. assistance phases out. Congress has required that the NNSA 
program to improve Russian nuclear material and warhead security--
known as the Material Protection, Control, and Accounting (MPC&A) 
program[Footnote 5]--conclude efforts in that country by the beginning 
of 2013, with Russia assuming responsibility for sustaining the 
program at that time.[Footnote 6] 

In recent years, NNSA nuclear nonproliferation programs have focused 
increasing attention on the security of weapon-usable nuclear 
materials in countries beyond Russia and the former Soviet states. For 
example, the Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI) was created in 
2004 to consolidate and accelerate NNSA efforts to secure and recover 
nuclear and radiological materials overseas and convert HEU-fueled 
research reactors in dozens of countries around the world. The NNSA 
programs have engaged more than 100 countries, and are seeking to 
increase nuclear security work with several countries where there has 
been limited prior cooperation. In fiscal year 2009, NNSA spent over 
$2 billion on its nuclear nonproliferation programs. 

The Obama administration has proposed to further strengthen and expand 
U.S. efforts to reduce nuclear proliferation risks and improve nuclear 
security worldwide. As Congress directed, President Obama created a 
position within the National Security Council (NSC)--Special Assistant 
to the President and Coordinator for Weapons of Mass Destruction--to 
serve as the central organizer for U.S. efforts to improve nuclear 
security and prevent nuclear terrorism worldwide.[Footnote 7] In April 
2009, in a speech in Prague, Czech Republic, President Obama announced 
a new international effort to secure all vulnerable nuclear material 
around the world within 4 years. NSC staff have taken the lead in 
coordinating efforts among different federal agencies that will 
contribute to this 4-year nuclear material security initiative. In 
addition, leaders of 47 nations--including Russia, China, India, and 
Pakistan--endorsed this 4-year nuclear material security goal in a 
communiqué from a Nuclear Security Summit hosted by the President in 
April 2010. The summit work plan accompanying the communiqué committed 
countries to voluntarily take steps to improve nuclear security by 
bringing international nuclear agreements into force, improving 
nuclear security standards, and exchanging information on nuclear 
security best practices. Senior representatives from each government 
will meet in December 2010 to evaluate progress toward the summit's 
goals, and a follow-on summit is planned for 2012 in South Korea. 

We have performed several reviews of NNSA nuclear nonproliferation 
programs, as well as those implemented by the Department of State 
(State) and Department of Defense (DOD), and found a number of 
limitations, management weaknesses, and other challenges facing these 
efforts. For instance, in 2005, we assessed the DOD and DOE strategies 
guiding their nuclear nonproliferation programs and efforts to 
coordinate DOE, DOD, and State nonproliferation activities.[Footnote 
8] We found that there was no overall strategy integrating the threat 
reduction and nuclear nonproliferation programs of these agencies. We 
also found that coordination of DOD, DOE, and State border security 
programs could be improved. To that end, we recommended that NSC issue 
clear guidance for the coordination of border security programs, as it 
has done with programs to employ biological weapons scientists. We 
also recommended that the Secretaries of Defense and Energy develop an 
integrated plan for improved coordination of all U.S. threat reduction 
and nonproliferation programs. DOE concurred with the report and our 
recommendations. DOD concurred with the need for better integration of 
nonproliferation and threat reduction programs but did not specify 
whether it agreed about the need for an integrated plan, while neither 
State nor NSC commented on the report. 

This report responds to your request that we conduct a review of U.S. 
nuclear nonproliferation strategies.[Footnote 9] Specifically, our 
objectives were to assess (1) U.S. governmentwide efforts to implement 
the President's initiative to secure all vulnerable nuclear materials 
worldwide within 4 years; (2) the status and challenges, if any, of 
NNSA's nuclear security programs in Russia; and (3) NNSA efforts to 
secure nuclear materials in countries other than Russia. In September 
2010, we reported to you on the results of our work in a classified 
report. This report summarizes certain aspects of our classified 
report. 

To address these objectives, we obtained and analyzed official 
documentation, including an interagency document describing the 
strategy for improving security of nuclear materials worldwide, an 
international nuclear security status report, NNSA's plan for 
advancing the President's initiative to secure vulnerable nuclear 
materials around the world within 4 years, materials on MPC&A program 
efforts in Russia, and other information on NNSA's efforts to secure 
nuclear materials in countries other than Russia. We also interviewed 
senior U.S. officials at NSC, NNSA, DOD, State, and the Office of the 
Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and representatives of the 
intelligence community. We also interviewed senior Russian officials 
who have worked with the NNSA nuclear nonproliferation programs, 
including officials from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the 
Russian State Corporation for Atomic Energy (Rosatom); the Russian 
Ministry of Defense (MOD); Russian Federal Customs Service; and 
Russian Federal Service of Environmental, Technological, and Nuclear 
Supervision (Rostekhnadzor), which provides oversight of Russia's 
civilian nuclear facilities. Additional details on our scope and 
methodology can be found in appendix I. 

We conducted this performance audit from April 2009 to December 2010 
in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. 
Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain 
sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our 
findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe 
that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our 
findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. 

Background: 

In 1991, Congress authorized DOD to establish the Cooperative Threat 
Reduction (CTR) program--the initial program of nuclear security 
assistance to Russia and the former Soviet states and the origin of 
some of the NNSA programs--to help Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and 
Kazakhstan secure and protect former Soviet nuclear weapons.[Footnote 
10] In 1992, the United States and Russia signed a CTR "umbrella 
agreement" that established an overall legal framework for U.S. 
nuclear security assistance to Russia.[Footnote 11] The United States 
and Russia completed 7-year extension protocols for the umbrella 
agreement in 1999 and 2006, and similar CTR umbrella agreements have 
been concluded with other former Soviet states. 

In 1993, DOE began implementing some CTR program activities funded by 
DOD, principally the MPC&A effort to help secure weapon-usable nuclear 
materials in the former Soviet Union. In 1995, DOE established its own 
MPC&A program with its own funding, and in 1996, funding for the MPC&A 
program shifted directly from DOD to DOE.[Footnote 12] The scope of 
DOE nonproliferation programs further expanded with DOE assuming 
responsibility for the CTR effort to shut down Russia's three 
remaining plutonium production reactors,[Footnote 13] initiating 
efforts to detect nuclear smuggling in Russia and other 
countries,[Footnote 14] and undertaking programs to redirect WMD 
scientific expertise through cooperative peaceful research 
projects.[Footnote 15] In October 1999, DOE's nonproliferation 
programs were realigned in the Office of Defense Nuclear 
Nonproliferation with the creation of NNSA. This office consists of 
six line offices under which various nuclear nonproliferation programs 
are implemented (see figure 1). 

Figure 1: NNSA Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation: 

[Refer to PDF for image: organizational chart] 

Top level: 
NNSA Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation. 

Second level, reporting to NNSA Office of Defense Nuclear 
Nonproliferation: 
* Office of Global Threat Reduction; 
* Office of Nuclear Risk Reduction; 
* Office of International Material Protection and Cooperation; 
* Office of Fissile Materials Disposition; 
* Office of Nonproliferation and International Security; 
* Office of Research and Development. 

Source: NNSA. 

[End of figure] 

The principal NNSA nuclear nonproliferation offices involved in 
securing and eliminating nuclear warheads and materials in foreign 
locations include the following: 

* The Office of International Material Protection and Cooperation. 
This office administers the MPC&A program through four suboffices: (1) 
the Office of Nuclear Warhead Protection, which, in cooperation with 
DOD, works with the Russian MOD, including the 12th Main Directorate, 
the Russian organization responsible for nuclear munitions; Navy; and 
Strategic Rocket Forces (SRF) to improve security of Russian warheads; 
(2) the Office of Weapons Material Protection, which enhances MPC&A 
systems at nuclear weapons material facilities controlled by Rosatom; 
(3) the Office of Material Consolidation and Civilian Sites, which 
conducts MPC&A upgrades at civilian nuclear facilities in Russia, 
supports conversion of Russian HEU to low-enriched uranium (LEU), 
consolidates nonweapons Russian HEU and plutonium to fewer locations, 
and cooperates with other key countries on nuclear security; and (4) 
the Office of National Infrastructure and Sustainability, which is 
working with Russia and other countries where MPC&A security 
improvements have been made to develop and strengthen national-level 
infrastructures that can sustain MPC&A systems over the long term. 

* The Office of Global Threat Reduction. This office implements the 
GTRI program, which protects, removes, and eliminates the use of 
nuclear and radiological materials located at civilian sites 
worldwide.[Footnote 16] GTRI subprograms work in the United States and 
internationally to convert research reactors from use of HEU to LEU, 
remove and dispose of excess nuclear and radiological materials, and 
protect high-priority nuclear and radiological sources from theft. The 
GTRI program has removed all significant amounts of HEU from 17 
countries and Taiwan, including removals from Chile, Libya, Romania, 
Taiwan, and Turkey, since the President's April 2009 Prague speech; 
removed or assisted in the disposal of more than 2,800 Kg of HEU and 
plutonium from 39 countries; and assisted in the conversion from the 
use of HEU to LEU or verified the shutdown of 72 HEU research reactors 
around the world, including reactors in the Czech Republic, Ukraine, 
South Africa, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. 

* The Office of Nuclear Risk Reduction. This office has led work with 
Russia under the Elimination of Weapons Grade Plutonium Production 
program to facilitate the permanent shutdown of the three remaining 
Russian weapon-grade plutonium production reactors--which collectively 
produced approximately 1.2 metric tons of weapon-grade plutonium each 
year--by refurbishing existing and constructing new replacement fossil-
fuel-based sources of power. The last reactor was shut down in April 
2010, and the program is to come to an end in fiscal year 2011. 

* The Office of Fissile Materials Disposition. This office has two 
major missions: the disposition of surplus U.S. weapon-grade HEU, and 
the elimination of U.S. and Russian plutonium no longer needed for 
defense programs. Under this latter mission, the fissile material 
disposition program will assist Russia in modifying reactors that will 
dispose of 34 metric tons of Russian weapon-grade plutonium. In April 
2010, the United States and Russia concluded a revised agreement 
laying the groundwork for both countries to begin this process by 2018. 

The two other U.S. agencies that conduct major nuclear 
nonproliferation programs and activities overseas are DOD and State. 
DOD administers the CTR program, which has facilitated the removal of 
nuclear weapons from Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan and has helped 
Russia and Ukraine meet their arms control commitments by assisting in 
the elimination of strategic delivery systems. CTR has also provided 
assistance to secure Russian nuclear warheads, destroy the Russian 
chemical weapons stockpile, reduce biological proliferation risks 
across the former Soviet Union, and combat WMD smuggling in the 
region. The CTR program has expanded its geographic scope in recent 
years, notably helping Albania eliminate its chemical weapons. 

State manages its own nonproliferation programs, provides support to 
NNSA and other U.S. agency nuclear nonproliferation programs working 
overseas, and conducts bilateral and multilateral diplomacy to address 
proliferation threats around the world under the Bureau of 
International Security and Nonproliferation.[Footnote 17] Among other 
things, State's nuclear nonproliferation programs include efforts to 
enhance international export controls and border security; counter 
nuclear smuggling; redirect WMD expertise in Iraq, Libya, and other 
countries to peaceful research; and sustain a Nonproliferation and 
Disarmament Fund that provides supplemental funding to address 
nonproliferation contingencies and other urgent threat reduction 
efforts. 

NSC staff have the principal role in coordinating the implementation 
of NNSA, DOD, State, and other agency nonproliferation programs. While 
NSC oversees development of general policy and establishes guidelines 
for U.S. nonproliferation programs, it does not implement programs or 
control their budgets. 

A Governmentwide Strategy for the President's 4-Year Global Nuclear 
Material Security Initiative Has Been Developed, but Details 
Concerning the Initiative's Overall Cost, Time Frame, and Scope of 
Work Are Unclear: 

NSC officials approved a governmentwide strategy for the President's 4-
year initiative to secure all vulnerable nuclear materials worldwide. 
In addition, U.S. agencies--including NNSA, DOD, and State--have 
identified individual plans in varying levels of development and 
specificity describing how they intend to contribute to the 4-year 
initiative. However, this interagency strategy lacks specific details 
concerning how the initiative will be implemented, including the 
identity of and details regarding vulnerable foreign nuclear material 
sites and facilities to be addressed, agencies and programs 
responsible for addressing each site, planned activities at each 
location, potential challenges and strategies for overcoming those 
obstacles, anticipated timelines, and cost estimates. As a result, key 
details and objectives for the 4-year initiative remain unclear, 
including the overall estimated costs, time frames, and scope of work 
associated with the initiative. 

NSC Has Approved an Interagency Strategy for the President's 4-Year 
Global Nuclear Material Security Initiative, and Individual Agencies 
Have Identified Plans for Contributing to This Goal: 

NSC has approved an interagency document describing NNSA, DOD, and 
State contributions to the President's initiative to secure all 
vulnerable nuclear materials worldwide within 4 years.[Footnote 18] 
According to NSC officials, this document serves as a governmentwide 
strategy for the 4-year initiative. We reviewed a copy of this seven- 
page document, "Interagency Efforts to Improve the Security of Nuclear 
Weapons and Fissile Materials," which, among other things, describes 
the scope and objectives of the interagency effort and identifies the 
main activities by agencies and programs in support of the President's 
4-year initiative. 

Individual agencies have plans in varying levels of development and 
specificity regarding their contributions to the 4-year nuclear 
security goal. Specifically, 

* NNSA was the only agency to have developed a formal written plan 
with specific details regarding how it intends to contribute to the 4-
year nuclear material security goal. NNSA officials told us that they 
had anticipated a presidential initiative to secure vulnerable nuclear 
materials worldwide prior to the President's April 2009 announcement 
and began developing a plan in 2008 based on statements made during 
the 2008 presidential campaign. The classified NNSA plan details a 
prioritized five-part effort, including (1) continuing nuclear 
security cooperation, especially MPC&A upgrades and efforts to 
transition responsibility for sustaining MPC&A systems; (2) expanding 
nuclear security cooperation with other countries; (3) accelerating 
nuclear material removal efforts with other countries; (4) 
strengthening nuclear security standards, practices, and next- 
generation international nuclear safeguards; and (5) building 
international capabilities to prevent illicit nuclear trafficking and 
smuggling. Among other things, the NNSA plan identifies specific sites 
and facilities in various countries for engagement and includes 
additional technical information that will support the development of 
next steps for cooperation. 

* DOD is planning to contribute to the President's 4-year initiative 
through the CTR program. In February 2010, the CTR program announced a 
Global Nuclear Lockdown initiative as its contribution, with funding 
of $74.5 million for fiscal year 2011. While DOD has not developed a 
detailed written plan similar to NNSA's, according to DOD officials, 
the CTR program is planning to undertake several activities, including 
the following: 

- Working with NNSA to establish Centers of Excellence for Nuclear 
Security in China and India to foster nuclear material security 
training, facilitate exchange of nuclear material security best 
practices, and explore possible cooperative activities to improve 
nuclear material security infrastructure. 

- Continuing to provide assistance to the Russian MOD for secure 
transportation of nuclear warheads and working in collaboration with 
NNSA to evaluate and provide possible future nuclear warhead security 
assistance to the Russian MOD, including various forms of assistance 
to sustain security improvements at Russian nuclear warhead storage 
sites. 

- Cooperating with NNSA and other countries to identify HEU in spent 
nuclear fuel in locations where NNSA's GTRI program and other 
international efforts are not active. 

* State has also not developed a written plan similar to NNSA's for 
contributing to the President's 4-year initiative, but according to 
State officials, State intends to provide general diplomatic support 
for the other agency programs in implementing their nuclear material 
security activities abroad. State also intends to support several 
international mechanisms and regimes relevant to the initiative, 
including the G-8 Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and 
Materials of Mass Destruction,[Footnote 19] the Global Initiative to 
Combat Nuclear Terrorism,[Footnote 20] the United Nations Security 
Council Resolution 1540 Committee,[Footnote 21] and the Amendment to 
the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material. 
[Footnote 22] 

Interagency Strategy for the 4-Year Global Nuclear Material Security 
Initiative Lacks Key Implementation Details, and the Initiative's 
Overall Costs, Time Frames, and Scope Are Uncertain: 

We found that the interagency strategy for the 4-year global nuclear 
material security initiative lacks specific details concerning how the 
initiative will be implemented, including the identity of and details 
regarding vulnerable foreign nuclear material sites and facilities to 
be addressed, agencies and programs responsible for addressing each 
site, planned activities at each location, potential challenges and 
strategies for overcoming those obstacles, anticipated timelines, and 
cost estimates. NSC officials told us that they believed developing 
such a single, integrated cross-agency plan could take years. However, 
we found that absent such an implementation plan, essential details 
associated with the 4-year initiative remain unclear, including the 
initiative's overall estimated costs, time frames, and scope of work. 

Costs to Implement Initiative Are Unknown: 

The overall costs associated with fulfilling the President's 4-year 
initiative have not been estimated and are unknown. For its part, NNSA 
estimated that approximately $700 million would need to be shifted to 
its fiscal year 2010 and 2011 nuclear nonproliferation program budgets 
from projected out-year budgets in NNSA's Future Years Nuclear 
Security Plan in order to accelerate MPC&A and GTRI activities under 
the 4-year work scope. NSC officials told us, however, that they did 
not believe this was a valid estimate of costs associated directly 
with the 4-year nuclear material security goal, in part because the 
NNSA work scope encompasses activities that NSC believes fall outside 
of the initiative's scope. In addition, these officials told us that 
estimating the costs associated with the President's goal is 
impossible because the initiative is predicated on other countries 
providing assistance and cost sharing, and it is impossible to 
forecast cooperation that may be possible with other countries in the 
future, including resuming denuclearization efforts in North Korea. 

Time Frames Are Uncertain: 

NSC does not consider the 4-year time frame for securing nuclear 
materials worldwide a hard and fast deadline. NSC officials told us 
that the President did not state that nuclear material security would 
or should be completed within 4 years when he announced the proposal 
in 2009, and they did not believe the purpose of the initiative is to 
achieve a specific level of nuclear material security around the world 
within a specific period of time. Instead, these officials described 
the value of the President's proposal in broader terms, specifically 
as a "forcing function" to (1) accelerate ongoing U.S. nuclear 
nonproliferation programs, (2) drive closer integration of nuclear 
nonproliferation programs across the federal government, and (3) 
mobilize greater international responsibility for and commitment to 
nuclear material security. NSC officials stressed that the 4-year 
initiative is international, and that responsibility rests with all 
nations--not just the United States--to achieve this goal. 

Scope of Foreign Sites to Be Covered by Initiative, Levels of Access 
to Some Foreign Sites, and When Materials Will Be Considered Secure 
Are Unclear: 

Details relating to the overall scope of the 4-year initiative--
including the identity of and details regarding vulnerable foreign 
nuclear material sites and facilities to be addressed, how limitations 
on access to nuclear facilities that some countries may impose will be 
overcome, and the criteria used to judge when foreign nuclear sites 
can ultimately be considered secure--remain vague. 

Regarding the initiative's scope of foreign nuclear material sites, 
NSC has led an interagency process to identify, classify, and 
prioritize sites internationally based on information about the 
amounts and types of material at those locations and security 
vulnerabilities. This effort draws heavily on information from the 
Nuclear Materials Information Program (NMIP), an interagency program 
whose details are classified that organizes, consolidates, and 
assesses information from a range of U.S. government agencies and 
sources on worldwide nuclear material inventories, locations, and 
security status in an integrated and continuously updated information 
management system. On the basis of information from NMIP, nuclear 
material sites around the world were placed in one of seven different 
categories: 

* sites in high-income countries with a relatively high degree of 
security; 

* sites now considered relatively secure based on prior assistance 
from the MPC&A program and other U.S. nonproliferation assistance 
programs; 

* sites where MPC&A security upgrades have been made, but where 
residual security concerns still remain; 

* sites to be addressed by the GTRI program for protection and/or 
removal of nuclear materials, or conversion of facilities so they no 
longer require HEU; 

* sites in countries that have been reluctant to relinquish their HEU 
for shipment to more secure facilities in the United States or Russia; 

* a separate category for several specific countries where there are 
political sensitivities and access limitations to working with the 
United States on nuclear material security issues; and: 

* sites in high-income countries with large nuclear industries where 
there may be security vulnerabilities. 

According to the interagency strategy document for the 4-year nuclear 
material security initiative, several hundred sites around the world 
were determined to have significant amounts of nuclear material. While 
the majority of these sites were determined to meet IAEA baseline 
security guidelines, a large number of sites were determined to be 
most vulnerable. NSC officials told us that a list of the most 
vulnerable sites, derived from NMIP, is being used in planning for the 
4-year nuclear material security initiative. We received and reviewed 
information describing the NMIP methodologies and criteria used to 
assess the security of nuclear material storage sites. However, the 
interagency strategy document did not identify the total universe of 
sites evaluated or the subset of sites determined to be most 
vulnerable, and we did not obtain additional information specifying or 
providing further details about these sites within the time frame of 
this engagement. 

In a 2008 U.S. government report inventorying known facilities and 
sites worldwide with nuclear weapons or formula quantities of 
strategic special nuclear materials,[Footnote 23] which draws on 
information from NMIP, we found a list of foreign nuclear material 
sites that could be within the scope of the 4-year effort. An NSC 
official told us that this list would be comparable to the overall 
scope of sites evaluated for inclusion under the 4-year nuclear 
material security initiative. However, the inventory of facilities in 
this document does not include detailed information for these sites-- 
such as warhead or material inventories, vulnerability assessments, or 
risk ratings--that would allow us to understand and assess the 
potential scope of the 4-year nuclear material security initiative. 

NSC officials told us that even with the information available through 
NMIP, there is a large universe of nuclear material sites around the 
world and there are many unknowns and uncertainties concerning some 
foreign nuclear material sites. For this reason, the scope of 
international facilities with nuclear materials that are considered 
vulnerable is constantly evolving. Furthermore, NSC officials also 
told us that they are taking a broad view of what constitutes 
vulnerable nuclear material. Specifically, they told us that any 
material that could be used in a nuclear explosive device is 
inherently dangerous and that some weapon-usable materials located in 
high-income countries could still be considered vulnerable and within 
the scope of the President's initiative. 

In addition, it is unclear how the initiative intends to address 
foreign sites with potentially vulnerable nuclear materials in cases 
where the host countries have imposed access limitations that could 
complicate or preclude security assessments and assistance. Some 
countries with weapon-usable nuclear materials may resist nuclear 
security cooperation with the United States, and U.S. programs may 
never be given access to some foreign nuclear sites and facilities. 
For example, the Russian government has refused to include in the 
scope of cooperation with NNSA three major facilities in the closed 
nuclear cities of Lesnoy, Trekhgorny, and Zarechny that are 
responsible for serial production of nuclear weapons material. 
[Footnote 24] NNSA has not been provided access to and is not 
anticipating conducting future MPC&A work at those locations. 

Finally, the criteria for determining when foreign nuclear material 
sites can be considered secure remain vague. The interagency strategy 
document for the initiative states that the goal of the effort is to 
ensure that all nuclear material sites are secured at least to IAEA 
guidelines on the "Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and Nuclear 
Facilities" (INFCIRC/225/Rev.4) and to integrate when and where 
possible the most recent versions of these guidelines.[Footnote 25] 
However, NSC and NNSA officials told us that nuclear material security 
is a long-term and evolving endeavor that extends beyond making near- 
term improvements to nuclear material sites, such as installing modern 
MPC&A systems. While near-term security upgrades to nuclear material 
are important, NSC and NNSA officials both told us--and as we have 
previously reported[Footnote 26]--that effective and lasting nuclear 
material security requires working with other countries to adopt 
effective security practices so they can sustain MPC&A systems on 
their own; removing and consolidating nuclear materials to fewer, more 
secure locations; converting facilities such as research reactors so 
they no longer require weapon-usable materials; and ultimately 
eliminating nuclear materials wherever possible. 

NNSA's Nuclear Security Programs Have Made Varying Levels of Progress 
in Russia and Face Challenges That Are Delaying Program Implementation 
and Could Increase Future Program Costs: 

Three NNSA nuclear nonproliferation programs we reviewed--the MPC&A 
program, the nuclear Material Consolidation and Conversion (MCC) 
program, and the GTRI program--have made varying degrees of progress 
in securing Russian nuclear warheads and materials. The future of 
these efforts in Russia could be jeopardized by an uncertain high- 
level Russian political commitment to further nuclear security 
cooperation with the United States. In addition, each of these 
programs faces implementation challenges that could delay or prevent 
achievement of its objectives in Russia. In particular, because of the 
challenges facing the MPC&A program, NNSA is unlikely to meet the 
deadline under current U.S. law requiring Russia to assume sole 
responsibility for sustaining MPC&A by January 1, 2013, and MPC&A 
program activities will likely need to continue in Russia beyond 2012. 

NNSA Program Securing Russian Nuclear Warhead and Material Facilities 
Has Made Progress, while NNSA Programs to Consolidate Russian HEU and 
Convert Russian Research Reactors Have Produced More Limited Results: 

While the MPC&A program has made considerable progress in improving 
the security of Russia's nuclear warheads and material facilities, the 
other two programs--MCC and GTRI--have had more limited success in 
achieving their objectives in Russia. 

MPC&A Program Has Implemented Security Upgrades at 110 Russian Nuclear 
Warhead and Material Sites: 

Through the MPC&A program, NNSA has improved security at 110 Russian 
nuclear warhead and material sites. NNSA has completed a combination 
of rapid and comprehensive MPC&A upgrades[Footnote 27] to 73 Russian 
MOD nuclear warhead sites.[Footnote 28] However, there is currently no 
agreement to conduct security upgrades at additional Russian warhead 
facilities. NNSA has also implemented MPC&A upgrades at 37 Russian 
nuclear material sites. A total of 214 Russian nuclear material 
buildings at these 37 sites are included in NNSA's current scope of 
work, of which 195 have been upgraded. 

However, the MPC&A program's scope of upgrade work for Russian nuclear 
warhead and material sites continues to evolve. For instance, the 
MPC&A program is conducting additional work at some of the 73 Russian 
MOD sites where MPC&A upgrades have already been made, such as 
installing checkpoints to improve screening of vehicles and personnel 
on the perimeter of four Russian Navy closed cities where nuclear 
warhead sites are located. NNSA is also retrofitting and improving 
previous upgrades to 15 Russian Navy warhead sites to address 
vulnerabilities that were unknown at the time initial upgrades were 
made. A similar replacement of outdated and obsolete MPC&A equipment 
installed at 11 SRF sites has also been proposed by MOD. In addition, 
at Russian nuclear material sites, NNSA is planning to replace 
obsolete or nonfunctioning equipment and retrofit previously upgraded 
systems that have reached the end of their expected lifetimes. NNSA 
has also identified additional buildings at several Russian nuclear 
material sites that it would like to add to the U.S.-Russian action 
plan for future MPC&A upgrade work. 

NNSA has also been working to transition to Russian ownership and 
responsibility for sustaining the upgraded MPC&A systems that it has 
provided to Russia. NNSA officials told us that this transition is 
critical to effective long-term nuclear security in the country and to 
ensuring that the significant U.S. investment in Russian MPC&A is not 
wasted. As MPC&A upgrades at Russian nuclear warhead and material 
sites have been completed, NNSA has typically funded a period of 
sustainability assistance to the sites, including support for 
maintenance, repair, and logistical services and spare equipment for 
the improved security systems. In addition, NNSA has worked with 
Russian government agencies and organizations to establish an 
effective national MPC&A infrastructure through regulatory 
development, training, inspections, and other forms of assistance, 
such as equipping guard and protective forces for the sites. Joint 
concepts and plans to transition responsibility for sustaining MPC&A 
have been developed by NNSA with Rosatom and the Russian MOD under 
which U.S. funding for sustainability is to gradually decrease while 
Russian support gradually increases. In fiscal year 2009, NNSA spent 
approximately $100 million on MPC&A sustainability efforts in Russia 
for nuclear warheads and materials. 

MCC Program Has Made Limited Progress in Facilitating Consolidation of 
Russian HEU: 

The MCC program supports (1) converting non-weapons-origin Russian HEU 
to LEU and (2) reducing the number of buildings and sites in Russia 
that contain HEU by consolidating materials in fewer, more secure 
locations. While NNSA has made progress in the HEU-LEU conversion 
component of the program, having facilitated the conversion of over 12 
metric tons of Russian HEU, less progress has been made in the 
consolidation component of the program. When it was created, in 1999, 
the MCC program estimated that it would assist Russia in removing 
material from 50 buildings and 5 sites completely by 2010. However, to 
date, it has achieved removal of all HEU from only 1 site and 25 
buildings. 

GTRI Program Has Made Little Progress in Converting Research Reactors 
in Russia from Use of HEU: 

While NNSA officials told us that there is uncertainty about the total 
number of Russian reactors using HEU, the GTRI program plans to 
complete the conversion or verified shutdown of 71 HEU-fueled research 
reactors and related facilities in Russia by 2020.[Footnote 29] 
Although Russia has not yet agreed to convert any of these facilities, 
Russia verified to the GTRI program in February 2010 that it had shut 
down 3 of its research reactors, and GTRI officials told us that the 
program has a commitment from Russia to close 5 additional HEU 
research reactors. NNSA officials also told us that GTRI has achieved 
an agreement in principle with Russia to conduct conversion 
feasibility studies on 6 Russian research reactors, which could 
facilitate completion of feasibility studies for other Russian 
facilities once Russia agrees to them. 

Future NNSA Nuclear Security Efforts in Russia Jeopardized by 
Uncertain Political Commitment from the Russian Government: 

NNSA's nuclear nonproliferation programs in Russia face an uncertain 
future because of questionable high-level Russian political commitment 
to continue cooperation with the United States on nuclear security. 
For example, senior Russian officials at the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs and Rosatom told us that nuclear materials in their country 
are now fully secure and that they saw little value to continuing to 
work with the United States on improving the security of its nuclear 
facilities. This view was reiterated in the Russian government's 
statement to the April 2010 Nuclear Security Summit, in which it 
declared: 

"Russia maintains its nuclear security at an appropriate level. The 
Russian Federation confirms that all nuclear materials in its 
territory and respective facilities are safely protected, so there are 
no vulnerable nuclear materials or facilities in its territory, which 
would raise concerns due to their security level." 

As a consequence, some Russian officials have raised questions about 
the need for continuing U.S. assistance to improve Russian nuclear 
warhead and material security. For example, a Russian Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs official told us that it was the ministry's position 
that the CTR umbrella agreement should not be extended for a third 
time when the current extension protocol expires in 2013. However, 
without the privileges and immunities provided by the umbrella 
agreement, NNSA officials told us that with the exception of the MPC&A 
program's work with Rostekhnadzor, which occurs under a separate 
government-to-government agreement, it would be impossible to continue 
MPC&A program work in Russia. 

Russian officials told us that it was important for Russia to be 
considered an "equal partner" with the United States on nuclear 
material security instead of being viewed as a recipient of U.S. 
nuclear security assistance. Moreover, these officials said that the 
emphasis of U.S.-Russian cooperation should be on nuclear 
proliferation risks in countries other than Russia. However, these 
officials did not provide us with specific examples of new initiatives 
or proposals where the United States and Russia could work together in 
the future to address nuclear security risks in other nations. 

We also found that the Russian government's financial commitment to 
provide and sustain effective nuclear security systems independent of 
U.S. support is uncertain. Russian officials told us that the Russian 
government considers its nuclear security budgets secret and refuses 
to provide such information to the United States. This lack of 
transparency makes it difficult to assess Russia's willingness and 
ability to support an effective nuclear security program independent 
of U.S. assistance. 

Some NNSA Nuclear Security Programs Working in Russia Face 
Implementation Challenges: 

The MPC&A, MCC, and GTRI programs also face challenges to the 
effective and timely implementation and completion of their efforts in 
Russia. The MPC&A program in particular faces two principal challenges 
to completing its efforts in Russia by the end of 2012, as required 
under U.S. law, including (1) successfully completing upgrades against 
insider and outsider threats at some Russian nuclear material 
facilities and (2) developing both Russian national-level 
infrastructure and practices and procedures at Russian sites to ensure 
effective long-term sustainability of MPC&A systems for nuclear 
materials. To overcome these challenges, MPC&A program activities in 
Russia will need to continue beyond 2012. NNSA also faces continuing 
obstacles to completing a government-to-government agreement needed to 
advance the consolidation component of the MCC program in Russia, 
while Russian technical concerns over the conversion of its research 
reactors from HEU and the absence of a formal conversion agreement 
also pose obstacles to the achievement of GTRI program objectives. 

Challenges to Mitigating Insider and Outsider Threats at Russian 
Nuclear Material Facilities: 

We found that NNSA faces challenges in implementing MPC&A upgrades 
against insider and outsider threats at some Russian nuclear material 
facilities to reduce the risk of material theft. NNSA has sought to 
work more actively with some Russian nuclear facilities to jointly 
identify where additional or augmented MPC&A upgrades would be 
desirable. While NNSA has proposed MPC&A upgrades at certain Russian 
sites to address these concerns, we found that progress in 
implementing upgrades at some locations and in some MPC&A technical 
areas has been limited. Implementing certain types of upgrades--
especially those that Russian facilities believe could slow site 
operations--can take considerable time, and require several rounds of 
discussions and project demonstrations for NNSA and Russian 
counterparts to reach agreement. 

Challenges to Developing Russian National Infrastructure and Site-
Level Practices and Procedures for Long-Term MPC&A Sustainability: 

NNSA is working to enhance Russia's national-level infrastructure to 
sustain MPC&A systems for nuclear materials in 10 ongoing project 
areas, including enhancement of Russian nuclear security culture, 
developing Russian regulations for MPC&A operations, and strengthening 
Russian inspection and oversight capabilities.[Footnote 30] Appendix 
II identifies and describes the goals of the MPC&A program's national- 
level sustainability project areas in Russia. In our interviews with 
U.S. and Russian officials, we found that more work needs to be done 
in several of these areas, including development of Russian MPC&A 
regulations, nuclear security culture enhancement, MPC&A oversight and 
inspection, and MPC&A operations monitoring. 

The United States and Russia have also fostered development of MPC&A 
sustainability practices and procedures at the Russian nuclear 
material site level based on seven sustainability elements,[Footnote 
31] such as the presence of an effective MPC&A management structure at 
the site that plans, implements, tests, and evaluates the site's MPC&A 
systems. For each of the seven sustainability elements, a series of 
indicators has been established to monitor and rate progress at each 
site toward these objectives. Appendix III identifies each of the 
seven sustainability elements and selected indicators for each. 

At certain Russian sites and in certain MPC&A sustainability areas, we 
found that the MPC&A program has made limited progress and faces 
challenges in developing effective practices and procedures consistent 
with the seven elements of MPC&A sustainability. For instance, we 
found that sustainability-related activities had not started or were 
only in the early stages of implementation at some of the Russian 
nuclear material sites where MPC&A activities are ongoing. 

A Potentially Large Scope of MPC&A Work in Russia May Be Needed beyond 
2012: 

Because of the ongoing challenges confronting MPC&A program work in 
Russia, an effective MPC&A system sustained solely by Russia is 
unlikely to be achieved by the congressionally mandated January 1, 
2013, deadline, and a potentially significant program of continued 
U.S. assistance to Russia may be necessary beyond this date. 
Specifically, a combination of continued MPC&A upgrades and 
sustainability activities at some Russian nuclear material sites and 
support for further development of Russian national-level MPC&A 
sustainability infrastructure could continue through 2018. 

Regarding Russian nuclear warhead sites, both NNSA and the Russian MOD 
have exchanged proposals for upgrade work at certain warhead 
facilities that could continue beyond 2012, including NNSA support for 
replacing obsolete MPC&A equipment at 11 SRF sites as proposed by MOD. 
NNSA officials also indicated that MPC&A sustainability activities for 
Russian warhead MPC&A could continue past 2012, including assisting 
MOD and the services with the implementation of MPC&A regulations. 

NNSA has not developed firm out-year budget estimates for continuing 
MPC&A efforts overall in Russia. However, NNSA officials told us that 
they had roughly estimated that approximately $150 million per year 
would be needed to support MPC&A efforts in Russia beyond fiscal year 
2012, including approximately $40 million per year for national-level 
sustainability activities and approximately $110 million per year to 
support future site-level upgrades and sustainability programs. 

MCC Program Faces Continuing Challenges in Consolidating Russian 
Nuclear Materials to Fewer, More Secure Locations: 

NNSA has made little progress in and faces continuing challenges to 
advancing the consolidation component of the MCC program in Russia. 
NNSA believes consolidating Russian HEU is important because it would 
(1) reduce the burden on the MPC&A program by allowing it to focus on 
securing a smaller number of Russian material sites, (2) allow Russia 
to focus its MPC&A resources on fewer potential theft targets, and (3) 
enhance nuclear security at a lower, more sustainable cost. NNSA 
officials acknowledged that there has been limited nuclear material 
consolidation progress in Russia and described two reasons for the 
slow pace. First, NNSA is not aware of any Rosatom plan for reducing 
the size of its nuclear complex, and therefore cannot make specific 
proposals regarding potential MCC program support for such an effort. 
Second, the MCC program has been implemented only on a pilot basis in 
Russia. Efforts have been under way since 2007 to conclude a formal 
government-to-government MCC agreement that, according to NNSA, would 
give the program an agreed-upon legal framework for the continuation 
and expansion of program activities. NNSA officials said that they 
expected this agreement to be concluded during the July 2009 summit 
meeting between President Obama and Russian President Medvedev in 
Moscow. However, the agreement was reportedly rejected during Russian 
government interagency review. As a consequence, NNSA officials told 
us that plans to work with Russia on nuclear material consolidation 
remain on "cold standby." 

GTRI Program Faces Challenges in Converting Russian Research Reactors 
from HEU to LEU: 

NNSA also faces challenges in working with Russia to convert its 
research reactors and related facilities currently utilizing HEU. NNSA 
officials told us that Russian research reactor operators have 
traditionally been wary of such conversion because of concerns about 
the performance of replacement LEU-based fuels. In the 2005 joint U.S.-
Russian presidential statement in Bratislava, Slovakia, the United 
States and Russia agreed to focus the reactor conversion program on 
"third countries," thus excluding Russian reactors from U.S.-Russian 
cooperation. 

The GTRI program has achieved an agreement in principle with Russia to 
conduct conversion feasibility studies on 6 Russian research reactors. 
However, NNSA officials told us that completion of this agreement, 
which was expected in early fiscal year 2010, has been delayed. 
Moreover, NNSA officials told us that any agreement to conduct these 
studies would not constitute an official Russian decision to convert 
or undertake activities toward conversion. According to NNSA 
officials, a formal government-to-government agreement would need to 
be completed to facilitate the conversion of any Russian HEU research 
reactors or related facilities, while Russian officials have indicated 
that pursuing conversion activities beyond the feasibility study phase 
may require implementation of a U.S.-Russian agreement for peaceful 
nuclear cooperation.[Footnote 32] 

NNSA's Efforts to Improve Nuclear Material Security in Other Countries 
Are Under Way, but Progress Is Mixed: 

In addition to its efforts in Russia, NNSA is working with other 
countries on issues related to the security of weapon-usable nuclear 
materials. In two countries that are believed to have large nuclear 
material stockpiles--China and India--NNSA's efforts have been 
primarily limited to the relatively noncontroversial exchange of 
nuclear security best practices, training, and demonstration projects, 
rather than working to develop a program of security improvements at 
nuclear material facilities in those countries. NNSA is also seeking 
to accelerate the removal of weapon-usable nuclear materials from 
other priority countries through the GTRI program, including key 
countries that made new commitments at the April 2010 Nuclear Security 
Summit to relinquish or reduce their weapon-usable nuclear material 
stockpiles. 

Limited Scope of NNSA Nuclear Security Cooperation with China and 
India: 

Beyond Russia, NNSA is also engaging China and India in discussions on 
issues related to the security of weapon-usable nuclear materials. The 
MPC&A program is the lead NNSA program involved in this effort. 
However, because this cooperation is considered politically sensitive, 
NNSA's approach in both nations has been limited to the relatively 
noncontroversial exchange of nuclear security best practices, 
training, and demonstration projects. 

Nuclear Security Efforts in China: 

Since 2003, NNSA has held technical discussions primarily with Chinese 
civilian nuclear officials--including officials of the China Atomic 
Energy Authority (CAEA) and China National Nuclear Corporation--and 
other Chinese nuclear experts principally through workshops and 
training sessions on nuclear material security best practices, export 
controls, and safeguards. NNSA also sponsored a 2005 joint technology 
demonstration with CAEA in Beijing to promote modern MPC&A and 
safeguards technologies. In total, NNSA officials estimated that 
approximately $8.2 million has been spent on MPC&A cooperation with 
China through March 2010. 

To further the nuclear security dialogue with the Chinese civilian 
nuclear sector, NNSA is working with China, in cooperation with DOD, 
to establish a center of nuclear security excellence in the country, 
where nuclear material security best practices could be exchanged and 
related technologies demonstrated. At the April 2010 Nuclear Security 
Summit, China announced its intent to cooperate on the development of 
such a center. There is no official agreement among NNSA, DOD, and the 
Chinese government to establish such a center, though a memorandum of 
understanding is under discussion and may be signed in early 2011. 
However, notwithstanding these plans, NNSA officials told us that they 
do not anticipate conducting a program of site-specific upgrade work 
in China in either the civilian or the defense sector. 

Moreover, NNSA officials said that while CAEA supports continued MPC&A 
cooperation with NNSA, a Chinese government reorganization has 
replaced CAEA as the lead implementing agency under the existing 
agreement that serves as the vehicle for the implementation of NNSA 
nuclear nonproliferation activities in China. NNSA officials told us 
that they believe CAEA is interested in pursuing a new bilateral 
agreement with NNSA under which this cooperation could continue and 
expand. The MPC&A program's interactions in China, however, are likely 
to be limited to CAEA and China's civilian nuclear organizations. 
While there has been some participation by Chinese defense personnel 
in workshops, according to NNSA, Chinese military organizations--which 
control the bulk of China's nuclear weapon-usable material inventory--
have shown little interest in discussing nuclear security 
collaboration with the United States. 

Separately, the GTRI program has worked with China through an IAEA 
Coordinated Research Project to address conversion of Chinese-supplied 
Miniature Neutron Source Reactors (MNSR) located in China, and which 
China exported to Ghana, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Syria.[Footnote 
33] Existing replacement LEU fuels GTRI is developing for conversion 
of other foreign research reactors may not be feasible for the Chinese 
MNSRs. However, China has shut down one MNSR and converted another, 
and according to State officials, replacement LEU fuel being developed 
by China will likely be feasible for conversion of other Chinese 
MNSRs. In addition, China has committed to the disposition of HEU from 
Ghana, Nigeria, and Syria through an agreement with IAEA. 

Nuclear Security Efforts in India: 

NNSA is also seeking to work with India on a range of nuclear material 
security subjects, including implementing a Design Basis Threat, 
vulnerability assessments, physical protection systems, material 
control and accounting, transportation security, and nuclear security 
culture development. However, according to NNSA officials, there is no 
active, bilateral cooperation with India on these issues. In total, 
NNSA has spent less than $500,000 on activities designed to stimulate 
a nuclear security dialogue with India through workshops sponsored 
under the auspices of IAEA and other organizations. 

NNSA officials told us that discussions of Indian nuclear facility 
security with Indian officials has been very sensitive, though NNSA 
officials anticipate that a planned center of nuclear excellence in 
India, to be established in cooperation with DOD, could promote a 
broader nuclear security dialogue. However, NNSA officials told us 
that there is no official agreement with India to develop such a 
center. 

At the April 2010 Nuclear Security Summit, the Indian government 
announced that it would work with IAEA and other international 
partners to establish a regional Global Center for Nuclear Energy 
Partnership in India that would have a nuclear security component, 
along with other components related to nuclear power, radiation 
safety, and civilian applications of nuclear energy. NNSA officials 
told us that this announcement did not constitute a direct endorsement 
of the center planned by NNSA and DOD, but that further negotiations 
with the Indian government were expected to determine what role NNSA 
and DOD could play in the center proposed by India. 

Prospects for NNSA Removal of HEU from Other Countries Are Improving 
after Nuclear Security Summit: 

NNSA has also focused on efforts to remove weapon-usable material from 
nearly two dozen countries through the GTRI program. NNSA officials 
told us that some progress has been made in negotiations with several 
countries for the removal of their HEU to either the United States or 
Russia following the April 2010 Nuclear Security Summit. 

For example, NNSA officials told us that negotiations had been under 
way with the Ukrainian government for many years concerning the 
repatriation of its HEU inventory to Russia. During the Nuclear 
Security Summit, the Ukrainian President pledged to "get rid of" all 
Russian-origin HEU from the country by 2012, from all three sites 
where the material is currently located. In May 2010, GTRI facilitated 
the removal of a significant portion of Ukraine's HEU inventory-- 
specifically, the return of 56 Kg of HEU in spent fuel from the Kiev 
Institute of Nuclear Research to Russia. This effort represented the 
removal of more than a third of Ukraine's HEU inventory. Consistent 
with the joint statement made by the U.S. and Ukrainian Presidents 
during the Nuclear Security Summit, under which the United States 
agreed to provide technical and financial assistance to help Ukraine 
eliminate its HEU stocks, negotiations have been under way with the 
Ukrainian government and nuclear institutes to complete an agreement 
on an assistance package that would help facilitate the removal of 
Ukraine's remaining HEU stocks. 

In addition, NNSA officials told us that discussions occurred with the 
South African Nuclear Energy Corporation on nuclear material security 
issues following the Nuclear Security Summit. For instance, NNSA 
completed a contract for the future return of U.S.-origin spent HEU 
fuel located in South Africa to the United States. NNSA and the South 
African Nuclear Energy Corporation also agreed to establish a joint 
U.S.-South African technical working group to develop cost estimates 
and address technical issues for the possible future disposition of 
South African HEU in spent fuel form. The first meeting of the joint 
working group occurred in August 2010, during which both sides agreed 
to produce a joint feasibility study by the fall of 2010. Finally, 
South Africa has decided to pursue production of the molybdenum-99 
medical isotope using a research reactor--converted previously from 
use of HEU to LEU fuel, with the help of the GTRI program--that will 
now use LEU targets instead of HEU targets.[Footnote 34] According to 
GTRI officials, South Africa would become the world's first major 
molybdenum-99 producer to convert to an all-LEU process. 

Conclusions: 

The President's 4-year nuclear material security initiative has a 
worthwhile objective and can provide an impetus to accelerate NNSA and 
other U.S. government nuclear material security efforts with foreign 
countries. The initiative's goal, however, seems unrealistic in light 
of the formidable challenges to improving the security of nuclear 
stockpiles worldwide, especially the reluctance of key countries such 
as Russia to acknowledge weaknesses in their nuclear security systems. 
The uncertainty surrounding the likelihood of securing all vulnerable 
nuclear materials worldwide within 4 years is compounded by the 
absence of a robust U.S. interagency implementation plan for the 
initiative that clearly identifies vulnerable foreign nuclear material 
facilities to be addressed, assigns clear agency and program 
responsibilities for those locations, identifies activities to be 
conducted at each location, reviews potential challenges and how those 
obstacles could be overcome, estimates time frames for completing 
activities at each site, and presents estimated funding needed to 
achieve this goal. In addition to clarifying key objectives and 
details concerning how the 4-year initiative would be implemented, 
such a plan would provide Congress with a useful baseline on the 
status of global nuclear material security and provide a framework to 
systematically track progress. 

Important challenges continue to confront NNSA efforts to work 
cooperatively with Russia on nuclear material security. It is clear 
that U.S.-Russian collaboration on MPC&A will take more time--
certainly beyond the January 1, 2013, deadline under current U.S. law--
to have confidence that Russia will be in a position to assume full 
responsibility for sustaining U.S.-provided nuclear security systems 
over the long term. Even if this deadline were amended, we believe it 
is important for the program to provide Congress with realistic 
estimated time frames, strategy, work scope, and costs for future work 
in that country. In our view, the continuation of MPC&A assistance to 
Russia beyond the current deadline should not be open-ended but for a 
specified period of additional time, at the end of which Congress can 
reassess the progress that has been made and evaluate the need to 
authorize any additional extension. 

The efforts of the MPC&A and other NNSA programs working in Russia 
require cooperation from the Russian government, and we believe 
greater Russian commitment and openness are essential for the NNSA 
programs to succeed. As U.S. and Russian officials told us, it is 
important that cooperation between the two countries on joint nuclear 
security efforts be viewed as one of partnership and not U.S. 
assistance. We believe an important measure of partnership is the 
financial contributions from the foreign governments to the NNSA 
programs being implemented in their countries. In that regard, if the 
Russian government were to provide the United States with a clearer 
and more thorough sense of its current and future spending plans on 
nuclear security programs and activities, NNSA and other U.S. agency 
officials could have more informed discussions with Russian 
counterparts on where resources and cooperation are most urgently 
needed. 

While NNSA has made considerable progress securing Russian nuclear 
warheads and materials at numerous sites where they are located, we 
believe more progress is needed in consolidating and reducing the 
number of locations in Russia with nuclear materials, and phasing out 
the use of HEU at Russian research reactors and related facilities. In 
our view, these steps would provide a higher level of security at 
lower potential cost. Unfortunately, Russia has been reluctant to work 
more actively with NNSA to consolidate its nuclear weapon-usable 
materials and convert its HEU-fueled research reactors. 

Beyond Russia, it is apparent that some countries and facilities that 
are high priorities for the NNSA programs may be addressed by NNSA or 
other U.S. nuclear security programs only in very limited or 
restricted ways. While the President's April 2010 Nuclear Security 
Summit helped draw high-level international political attention to the 
threat of nuclear terrorism and proliferation risks, the process of 
building relationships with certain countries will likely take many 
years. Recognizing that progress on nuclear material security with 
foreign countries requires mutual cooperation, we believe the centers 
of nuclear security excellence that NNSA and DOD are planning to 
jointly develop in China and India are good first steps toward 
cultivating international nuclear security best practices and a shared 
perception of nuclear security risks. These centers may represent a 
model for engaging other countries in nuclear security dialogues and 
possibly more extensive future cooperation. 

Matter for Congressional Consideration: 

Because of the likely need for the MPC&A program to work with Russia 
past December 31, 2012, Congress may wish to consider amending the 
current law--as initially laid out in the Bob Stump National Defense 
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003--to give the MPC&A program 
additional time to work toward achievement of an MPC&A system that 
Russia is prepared for and capable of sustaining on its own. 
Considering input from the Secretary of Energy and the Administrator 
of NNSA as recommended below, Congress may wish to consider such an 
extension for a fixed period of time. 

Recommendations for Executive Action: 

We recommend that the Secretary of Energy and the Administrator of 
NNSA take the following three actions: 

* to assist Congress in its decision whether and for how long to 
extend the current deadline, clarify in a written plan the scope of 
remaining MPC&A work in Russia beyond the current program deadline, 
including information on remaining MPC&A activities by site or 
facility, timelines, and estimated costs of completing MPC&A program 
work in that country; 

* to enhance NNSA nuclear nonproliferation program planning, and 
provide a clearer picture of Russia's willingness and ability to 
support and sustain MPC&A and other nuclear security investments the 
United States has made in Russia, strengthen cooperation with the 
Russian government regarding the transparency of its current and 
future spending plans on nuclear security programs and activities; and: 

* reevaluate NNSA strategies--with an eye toward new incentives, 
inducements, or other sources of leverage--to persuade Russia to 
expand its cooperation with the MCC and GTRI programs with the goal of 
expediting the consolidation of Russian HEU to fewer locations and the 
conversion of Russian HEU-fueled research reactors and related 
facilities. 

We are making the following recommendation to the Assistant to the 
President for National Security Affairs: 

To provide a clear sense of the overall scope of work anticipated 
under the President's initiative to secure all vulnerable nuclear 
materials worldwide within 4 years, we recommend that NSC lead and 
coordinate through NNSA, DOD, State, and other relevant agencies, 
including members of the intelligence community, the development of a 
comprehensive plan for implementing the initiative. Such a plan should 
clearly identify the specific foreign countries, sites, and facilities 
where materials have been determined to be poorly secured, and include 
information specifying the agencies and programs responsible for 
addressing each location; planned activities, potential implementation 
challenges, and steps needed to overcome those challenges at each 
location; and estimated time frames and costs associated with 
achievement of the 4-year goal. 

Agency Comments and Our Evaluation: 

We provided a draft of our classified report to NNSA, DOE, NSC, State, 
DOD, and ODNI for formal comment. DOE and NNSA provided written 
comments on the classified draft report, the unclassified portions of 
which are presented in appendix IV. NSC, State, DOD, and ODNI had no 
written comments on our classified report. NNSA, DOE, NSC, State, and 
DOD provided technical comments that we incorporated as appropriate. 

DOE and NNSA agreed with our three recommendations that they (1) 
clarify in a written plan for Congress the scope of remaining MPC&A 
work in Russia beyond the 2013 program deadline, (2) strengthen 
cooperation with the Russian government regarding the transparency of 
its current and future spending plans on nuclear security programs and 
activities, and (3) reevaluate strategies to persuade Russia to expand 
its cooperation with the MCC and GTRI programs with the goal of 
expediting the consolidation of Russian HEU to fewer locations and the 
conversion of Russian HEU-fueled research reactors and related 
facilities. DOE and NNSA responded that progress has already been made 
in implementing the third recommendation. 

DOE and NNSA took issue with our characterization that the GTRI 
program has made little progress in converting Russian research 
reactors using HEU to LEU. We noted in the report that Russia verified 
to the GTRI program in February 2010 that it had shut down 3 HEU 
research reactors and that the GTRI program has an agreement in 
principle with Russia to conduct conversion feasibility studies on 6 
Russian research reactors. We have modified the report to include 
language noting that the GTRI program has obtained a commitment from 
Russia to close 5 additional research reactors. However, we believe 
the statement and the findings supporting it are factually correct, 
for the following reasons. First, as we reported, the GTRI program 
plans to complete the conversion or verified shutdown of 71 Russian 
HEU-fueled research reactors and related facilities. To date, the 
program acknowledges having verified the shutdown of only 3 of these 
reactors. In our view, this constitutes little progress toward the 
specific GTRI program objective relating to Russian research reactor 
shutdown or conversion. DOE's and NNSA's comment that the GTRI 
program's primary focus is on threat reduction efforts outside of 
Russia is not relevant to our finding that limited progress has been 
made toward this specific GTRI program goal in Russia. Moreover, the 
prospects and timelines for future shutdowns or actual conversions of 
Russian HEU research reactors are unclear and contingent on Russian 
government support, which we also believe is uncertain. As we noted in 
our report, NNSA officials told us that completion of the implementing 
agreement with Russia to allow for conversion feasibility studies on 6 
Russian research reactors that was expected in early 2010 has been 
delayed, the agreement would not constitute a Russian agreement to 
actually convert any of its facilities, and any future conversion 
activities beyond feasibility studies may require implementation of a 
U.S.-Russian agreement for peaceful nuclear cooperation. 

In addition, DOE and NNSA commented that some recent GTRI program 
accomplishments were not addressed in our report. We have modified 
language in our report to reflect those accomplishments. 

We are sending copies of this report to the appropriate congressional 
committees; the Secretaries of Energy, State, and Defense; the 
Administrator of NNSA; the Assistant to the President for National 
Security Affairs; the Director of National Intelligence; and other 
interested parties. In addition, the report will be available at no 
charge on the GAO Web site at [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov]. 

If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please 
contact me at (202) 512-3841 or aloisee@gao.gov. Contact points for 
our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found 
on the last page of this report. GAO staff who made major 
contributions to this report are listed in appendix V. 

Signed by: 

Gene Aloise: 
Director, Natural Resources and Environment: 

[End of section] 

Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology: 

The objectives of our review were to assess (1) U.S. governmentwide 
efforts to implement the President's initiative to secure all 
vulnerable nuclear materials worldwide within 4 years; (2) the status 
and challenges, if any, of the National Nuclear Security 
Administration's (NNSA) nuclear security programs in Russia; and (3) 
NNSA efforts to secure nuclear materials in countries other than 
Russia. 

To assess overall U.S. strategies and plans for implementing the 4-
year global nuclear material security initiative proposed by the 
President, we obtained and reviewed relevant documentation on the 
strategies for achieving this goal, including the interagency strategy 
document for this effort; an overview of the Nuclear Materials 
Information Program (NMIP) used to identify vulnerable nuclear 
material sites overseas; the most recent annual report to Congress on 
the security of nuclear weapons, strategic special nuclear materials, 
and related equipment located outside the United States as of 2008; 
and NNSA's "work scope" plan for securing nuclear materials worldwide 
within 4 years. The Department of Defense (DOD) and Department of 
State (State) did not develop comparable written plans detailing how 
their programs would contribute to the 4-year initiative. We 
interviewed National Security Council (NSC) officials on the 
initiative, the April 2010 Nuclear Security Summit, and issues related 
to broader national-level nuclear nonproliferation strategies and 
planning. We also interviewed officials at NNSA, DOD, and State 
concerning their contributions to the 4-year nuclear material security 
initiative. We also interviewed officials from the Office of the 
Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and representatives of the 
intelligence community, and reviewed documentation provided to us by 
ODNI, on issues and threats related to worldwide nuclear material 
security. 

We focused our evaluation of the status of and challenges facing NNSA 
nuclear security programs in Russia on three NNSA nuclear 
nonproliferation programs working in that country--the nuclear 
Material Protection, Control, and Accounting (MPC&A) program; the 
nuclear Material Consolidation and Conversion (MCC) program; and the 
Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI). We selected these three 
programs because they work directly on securing Russian nuclear 
warheads and materials in place (MPC&A program), converting Russian 
highly enriched uranium (HEU) to non-weapon-usable low-enriched 
uranium and consolidating the number of Russian sites with HEU to 
fewer, more secure locations (MCC program), or eliminating Russian use 
of HEU (GTRI program). We did not address other NNSA nuclear 
nonproliferation programs in Russia that are nearing completion (such 
as the Elimination of Weapons Grade Plutonium Production program), 
have not yet initiated significant programs of assistance to Russia 
(such as the program that will assist Russia in the disposition of its 
excess weapon-grade plutonium), or are indirectly related to nuclear 
warhead or material security (such as nuclear smuggling detection or 
weapons of mass destruction scientist reemployment programs). 

To evaluate the status of and challenges facing the efforts of these 
NNSA nuclear security programs in Russia, we examined these issues in 
interviews with the NNSA Administrator, senior officials in the NNSA 
Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, and the principal 
nonproliferation program offices involved in nuclear material security 
activities in Russia, including the Office of International Material 
Protection and Cooperation, which implements the MPC&A and MCC 
programs in Russia; the Office of Global Threat Reduction, which 
administers the GTRI program to, among other things, facilitate 
conversion of Russian research reactors and related facilities from 
use of HEU to use of low-enriched uranium; the Office of Nuclear Risk 
Reduction, which has facilitated the shutdown of Russia's last 
remaining weapon-grade plutonium production reactors; and the Office 
of Fissile Materials Disposition, which is working with Russia to 
eliminate plutonium it has declared excess to defense needs. 

We reviewed documentation and analyzed information provided to us by 
NNSA describing nuclear warhead and material security program efforts 
and the challenges they face in Russia, including documentation on the 
status of MPC&A upgrades at Russian nuclear warhead and material sites 
and efforts to transition responsibility to Russia for sustaining 
MPC&A over the long term. 

In addition, we obtained documentation from and interviewed senior 
Russian officials who have worked with the NNSA nuclear 
nonproliferation programs, including those from the Russian Ministry 
of Foreign Affairs; Russian State Corporation for Atomic Energy 
(Rosatom); Russian Ministry of Defense (MOD); Russian Federal Customs 
Service; and Russian Federal Service of Environmental, Technological, 
and Nuclear Supervision (Rostekhnadzor), which provides oversight of 
Russia's civilian nuclear facilities. 

We obtained and reviewed documentation from and interviewed U.S. 
officials to assess NNSA's efforts to secure nuclear materials in 
countries other than Russia. Specifically, we reviewed documentation 
provided by NNSA and interviewed MPC&A program officials concerning 
nuclear security program activities in China and India. We also 
interviewed DOD officials on DOD's plans to work jointly with NNSA in 
developing nuclear security centers of excellence in China and India. 
We analyzed relevant information from and interviewed GTRI program 
officials concerning program plans for foreign HEU removal and reactor 
conversion. 

We conducted this performance audit from April 2009 to December 2010 
in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. 
Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain 
sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our 
findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe 
that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our 
findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. 

[End of section] 

Appendix II: NNSA National-Level Project Areas for MPC&A 
Sustainability of Russian Nuclear Materials: 

Project area: Regulatory development; 
Goal: Provide a civilian regulatory structure in Russia for an 
integrated MPC&A program. 

Project area: Inspections; 
Goal: Enhance Russian MPC&A inspections by establishing an 
infrastructure with sufficient resources to enforce MPC&A regulations 
though federal and industry oversight. 

Project area: Material control and accountability measurements; 
Goal: Assist Russia in improving the security of weapon-usable 
material at high risk of theft or diversion, through development and 
support of a sustainable and effective measurement-based MC&A program. 

Project area: Rosatom training and technical support infrastructure 
project; 
Goal: Develop cost-effective, self-sustaining, and accessible training 
and technical support for upgraded MPC&A systems in Russia. 

Project area: MPC&A Education; 
Goal: Educate the next generation of Russian safeguards and security 
specialists to secure special nuclear material. 

Project area: MPC&A operations monitoring (MOM); 
Goal: Install MOM systems at non-Rosatom nuclear sites in Russia with 
completed MPC&A upgrades to provide increased confidence that the 
upgrades continue to operate effectively. 

Project area: Transportation security; 
Goal: Work with Rosatom to improve the security of Russian nuclear 
materials in transit. 

Project area: Protective force; 
Goal: Ensure that a sufficient number of organized, equipped, and 
trained protective force personnel are present to provide balanced 
protection against all design basis threats to Russian special nuclear 
material. 

Project area: Federal information systems; 
Goal: Operate and upgrade a Russian system designed to systematically 
collect, process, and analyze site reports on quantities of nuclear 
materials and inventory changes (project completed). 

Project area: Certification and taxation; 
Goal: Improve Russia's ability to certify MPC&A system-related 
equipment and software effectively and in a timely manner. 

Project area: Nuclear security culture; 
Goal: Develop Russian regulatory requirements, evaluation criteria and 
methodologies, and training programs to enhance nuclear security 
culture at the site level, including creating a nuclear security 
culture enhancement program at each site. 

Source: GAO analysis of NNSA data. 

[End of table] 

[End of section] 

Appendix III: Seven Elements of MPC&A Sustainability and Selected 
Indicators: 

Element: Site MPC&A organization; 
Description: MPC&A organizations at the site level plan, coordinate, 
implement, test, and evaluate MPC&A operations and have sufficient 
authority to carry out all aspects of their duties; 
Selected indicators: 
* Site has an established and documented MPC&A organization with clear 
roles and responsibilities; 
* Site has developed MPC&A plans of its own; 
* Site has developed a budget for MPC&A organization, activities, and 
personnel. 

Element: Site operating procedures; 
Description: MPC&A personnel follow existing regulatory requirements 
for using systems, equipment, and technologies to ensure security of 
nuclear materials at the sites and during transportation. The 
development of regulatory requirements takes into account data from 
vulnerability assessments and is customized to technical processes for 
handling nuclear materials; 
Selected indicators: 
* Site has written procedures for all key MPC&A operations; 
* Site procedures conform to Russian regulations; 
* Site has a process for field evaluation of procedures. 

Element: Human resource management and site training; 
Description: The human resource management and personnel training 
programs at the site ensure that employees have the requisite 
knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform necessary MPC&A operations; 
Selected indicators: 
* Performance by site personnel complies with operating procedures; 
* Site has established and resourced an on-site training organization; 
* MPC&A training is required for each staff member every year. 

Element: Operational cost analysis; 
Description: Operation of MPC&A systems requires adequate funding to 
ensure reduction of risk of theft and unauthorized use of nuclear 
materials. An operational cost analysis should examine all categories 
of costs associated with the upgrade and subsequent operation of MPC&A 
programs; 
Selected indicators: 
* Site has identified life cycle costs, capital replacement costs, and 
other costs for MPC&A equipment; 
* Site's operating budget covers the site's MPC&A requirements; 
* Site demonstrates ability to technically and financially sustain 
MPC&A. 

Element: Equipment maintenance, repair, and calibration; 
Description: Timely preventive maintenance, repair, and calibration of 
equipment provide for the efficient operation of all system components; 
Selected indicators: 
* Site has evaluated MPC&A system maintenance requirements; 
* Site has developed a master list of MPC&A equipment installed and 
maintenance and/or replacement priorities; 
* Site has spare parts supply and extended equipment warranties or 
replacement service contracts. 

Element: Performance testing and operational monitoring; 
Description: To evaluate MPC&A program effectiveness, it is necessary 
to have a performance testing and operational monitoring program; 
Selected indicators: 
* Site has internal review program to evaluate MPC&A performance; 
* Site is identifying and correcting MPC&A deficiencies; 
* Site tracks number and type of MPC&A incidents. 

Element: MPC&A system configuration management; 
Description: To sustain the efficient operation of MPC&A systems, it 
is necessary to track, log, and evaluate any changes that are 
introduced into these systems' configuration; 
Selected indicators: 
* Changes to MPC&A system configuration are reviewed by appropriate 
staff to verify system effectiveness is not degraded; 
* Changes in configuration are communicated to and understood by site 
staff. 

Source: GAO analysis of NNSA data. 

[End of table] 

[End of section] 

Appendix IV: Comments from the Department of Energy and National 
Nuclear Security Administration: 

NNSA: 
Department of Energy: 
National Nuclear Security Administration: 
Washington, DC 20585: 

December 8, 2010: 

Mr. Gene Aloise: 
Director: 
Natural Resources and Environment: 
Government Accountability Office: 
Washington, D.C. 20548: 

Dear Mr. Aloise: 

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) appreciated the 
opportunity to review the Government Accountability Office (GAO) draft 
report, GA0-11-227, Nuclear Nonproliferation: Comprehensive U.S. 
Planning and Better Foreign Cooperation Needed to Secure Vulnerable 
Nuclear Materials Worldwide. We understand that this work was done at 
the request of the Chairman, Subcommittee on Energy and Water 
Development, Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, to 
assess (1) U.S. government-wide efforts to implement the President's 4-
year nuclear material security initiative; (2) the status and 
challenges, if any, of NNSA's nuclear security programs in Russia; and 
(3) NNSA efforts to secure nuclear materials in countries other than 
Russia. 

NNSA appreciates GAO taking note of our accelerated efforts to meet 
the President's four-year goal in his April 2009 Prague speech, and in 
particular, that NNSA "anticipated a presidential initiative to secure 
vulnerable nuclear materials worldwide prior to the President's April 
2009 announcement and began developing a plan based on statements made 
during the 2008 Presidential campaign." Experienced observers of the 
nonproliferation and arms control arena have long recognized the need 
to address the proliferation threat outside of Russia, and it is one 
of the most important reasons the Global Threat Reduction Initiative 
(GTRI) was created in the first place. The 2008 Presidential election 
provided an opportunity to make accelerated progress on a set of goals 
recognized by both candidates to be of the highest national security 
concern. 

We do not agree with GAO's assertion that GTRI has made little 
progress in converting Russian research reactors from the use of 
highly enriched uranium (HEU) to low enriched uranium (LEU) fuel. 
First, GTRI's primary focus has been on threat reduction efforts 
outside of Russia, and second, as part of NNSA's comprehensive and 
integrated approach to manage all our nonproliferation programs, 
security upgrades were completed at all of the Russian civilian HEU 
research reactor sites under our Material Protection, Control and 
Accounting (MPC&A) program. NNSA's ultimate goal is permanent threat 
reduction, by converting Russian research reactors from the use of HEU 
to LEU fuel. To this end, we have verified the closure of three
Russian HEU research reactors, obtained a commitment for the closure 
of five additional Russian HEU research reactors, and are awaiting 
Russian approval to begin feasibility studies for the conversion of 
six more Russian HEU research reactors. Of note, GTRI has converted or 
verified the shutdown of 69 HEU research reactors around the world and 
it was only within the past year that we significantly expanded GTRI's 
reactor conversion work scope to include the additional 50 Russian 
research reactors. 

Your third objective was to assess NNSA efforts to secure nuclear 
materials in countries other than Russia. We appreciate the fact that 
you highlighted the extensive efforts already undertaken by NNSA to 
remove all significant quantities of HEU from 18 countries outside 
Russia. However, some of our recent accomplishments that fall within 
the timeframe were not addressed. In particular, we have made major 
progress on a number of threat reduction efforts in South Africa. The 
contract for removal of all the U.S.-origin spent HEU fuel was signed 
in August 2010, enabling this HEU to be returned to the United States 
by June 2011. We also assisted South Africa with the successful 
conversion of South Africa's Safari research reactor from the use of 
HEU to LEU fuel in 2008, and assisted the South African Nuclear Energy 
Corporation (Necsa) with the conversion of its Molybdenum-99 medical 
isotope production process from the use of HEU to LEU targets. 

In regard to the first recommendation, we agree that effective 
communication with Congress on the anticipated scope of work beyond 
2013 is very important. and we will continue to provide clear 
descriptions of that work as the legislation is developed. We also 
agree with the second recommendation and will work to find new 
incentives/inducements to address the issue highlighted in the 
classified report. 

With regard to the third recommendation, we agree that NNSA should 
develop new ideas to persuade Russia to expedite conversion of their 
HEU-fueled research reactors and related facilities, and to sign a 
Material Consolidation and Conversion agreement. We are pleased to 
report that we have already begun implementation of this 
recommendation. 

Under separate cover, we will send technical comments to help clarify 
and improve the report in areas that may be confusing or misleading.
Should you have any questions related to this response, please contact 
JoAnne Parker, Director, Office of Internal Controls at 202-586-1913. 

Sincerely, 

Signed by: 

Gerald L. Talbot, Jr. 
Associate Administrator for Management and Administration: 

[End of section] 

Appendix V: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments: 

GAO Contact: 

Gene Aloise, (202) 512-3841 or aloisee@gao.gov: 

Staff Acknowledgments: 

In addition to the contact named above, Glen Levis (Assistant 
Director), William Hoehn, William King, and Kevin Remondini made key 
contributions to this report. Other technical assistance was provided 
by Antoinette Capaccio and Alison O'Neill. 

[End of section] 

Footnotes: 

[1] Weapon-usable nuclear materials are highly enriched uranium, 
uranium-233, and any plutonium containing less than 80 percent of the 
isotope plutonium-238. Such materials are also often referred to as 
fissile materials or strategic special nuclear materials. 

[2] NNSA was created by the National Defense Authorization Act for 
Fiscal Year 2000, Pub. L. No. 106-65 (1999). It is a separate 
semiautonomous agency within DOE, with responsibility for the nation's 
nuclear weapons, nonproliferation, and naval reactors programs. 

[3] Radiological sources include radioactive material, such as cobalt- 
60, cesium-137, and strontium-90. While these materials cannot be used 
to create a nuclear weapon, they could be fabricated into a so-called 
dirty bomb or device to disperse radioactive materials. 

[4] IAEA is an independent international organization based in Vienna, 
Austria, that is affiliated with the United Nations and has the dual 
mission of promoting the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and verifying 
that nuclear technologies and materials intended for peaceful purposes 
are not diverted to weapons development efforts. 

[5] The MPC&A program provides modern nuclear security systems to 
facilities in Russia and other countries that, among other things, 
include physical protection systems, such as fencing and video 
surveillance equipment; material control systems, such as tamper- 
indicating seals for nuclear material storage containers and other 
access control equipment; and material accounting systems, such as 
nuclear measurement equipment and computerized databases, to inventory 
and track nuclear materials. 

[6] Bob Stump National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003, 
Pub. L. No. 107-314, § 3156, 116 Stat. 2458, 2739-2740 (codified at 50 
U.S.C. § 2343(b)(1) (2006)). In March 2010, the Department of Energy 
sent a request to Congress requesting that the MPC&A program be 
allowed to work in Russia beyond this deadline. 

[7] 50 U.S.C. § 2931 (2006). 

[8] GAO, Weapons of Mass Destruction: Nonproliferation Programs Need 
Better Integration, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-05-157] (Washington, D.C.: Jan. 28, 
2005). 

[9] In a separate report to be issued early next year, we plan to 
assess NNSA's financial support for its nonproliferation programs and 
evaluate the extent to which nonproliferation programs are being 
coordinated across the U.S. government. 

[10] In 1991, Congress passed the Soviet Nuclear Threat Reduction Act 
of 1991, popularly referred to as the Nunn-Lugar Act, authorizing U.S. 
threat reduction assistance to the former Soviet Union, because of 
concerns about the safety and security of Soviet nuclear weapons. Pub. 
L. No. 102-228, 105 Stat. 1691 (1991) (see 22 U.S.C. § 2551 note). The 
legislation authorized funding to assist the former Soviet Union with 
its efforts to (1) destroy nuclear, chemical, and other weapons; (2) 
transport, store, disable, and safeguard weapons in connection with 
their destruction; and (3) establish verifiable safeguards against the 
proliferation of such weapons. 

[11] The official title of the umbrella agreement is the Agreement 
Between the United States of America and the Russian Federation 
Concerning the Safe and Secure Transportation, Storage and Destruction 
of Weapons and the Prevention of Weapons Proliferation. 

[12] For information on the MPC&A program, see GAO, Nuclear 
Nonproliferation: Progress Made in Improving Security at Russian 
Nuclear Sites, but the Long-term Sustainability of U.S.-Funded 
Security Upgrades Is Uncertain, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-07-404] (Washington, D.C.: Feb. 28, 
2007). 

[13] Further information about this program can be found in GAO, 
Nuclear Nonproliferation: DOE's Effort to Close Russia's Plutonium 
Production Reactors Faces Challenges, and Final Shutdown Is Uncertain, 
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-04-662] (Washington, D.C.: 
June 4, 2004). 

[14] For previous GAO reports on these efforts, see GAO, Combating 
Nuclear Smuggling: Corruption, Maintenance, and Coordination Problems 
Challenge U.S. Efforts to Provide Radiation Detection Equipment to 
Other Countries, [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-06-311] 
(Washington, D.C.: Mar. 14, 2006), and Preventing Nuclear Smuggling: 
DOE Has Made Limited Progress in Installing Radiation Detection 
Equipment at Highest Priority Foreign Seaports, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-05-375] (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 31, 
2005). 

[15] For information on NNSA's WMD scientist redirection programs, see 
GAO, Nuclear Nonproliferation: DOE's Program to Assist Weapons 
Scientists in Russia and Other Countries Needs to Be Reassessed, 
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-08-189] (Washington, D.C.: 
Dec. 12, 2007); Nuclear Nonproliferation: DOE's Efforts to Assist 
Weapons Scientists in Russia's Nuclear Cities Face Challenges, 
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-01-429] (Washington, D.C.: 
May 3, 2001); and Nuclear Nonproliferation: Concerns with DOE's 
Efforts to Reduce the Risks Posed by Russia's Unemployed Weapons 
Scientists, [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO/RCED-99-54] 
(Washington, D.C.: Feb. 19, 1999). 

[16] There is a geographic division of labor between MPC&A and GTRI 
efforts to secure foreign nuclear material. The MPC&A program 
addresses sites in foreign countries including Russia, Belarus, 
Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, China, and India. GTRI addresses 
security at civilian research reactors and related facilities 
utilizing nuclear weapon-usable materials in all other countries that 
are not considered high-income. For an assessment of the GTRI effort, 
see GAO, Nuclear Nonproliferation: National Nuclear Security 
Administration Has Improved the Security of Reactors in Its Global 
Research Reactor Program, but Action Is Needed to Address Remaining 
Concerns, [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-949] 
(Washington, D.C.: Sept. 17, 2009). 

[17] The Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation was 
formed as a result of a 2005 State reorganization that combined 
nonproliferation and arms control issues under one bureau. For more 
information on this reorganization, see GAO, State Department: Key 
Transformation Practices Could Have Helped in Restructuring Arms 
Control and Nonproliferation Bureaus, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-738] (Washington, D.C.: July 15, 
2009). 

[18] This document also identifies potential contributions from the 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), including assistance and 
other forms of cooperation from NRC to help countries develop 
regulatory programs for physical protection of nuclear materials and 
facilities. We did not interview NRC officials concerning NRC plans 
for its contributions to the President's 4-year initiative. 

[19] Under the G-8 Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons 
and Materials of Mass Destruction, which was announced by the G-8 
nations (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United 
Kingdom, and the United States) at their 2002 summit, the G-8 members 
agreed to raise $20 billion over 10 years for nonproliferation-related 
assistance, initially to Russia, of which the United States agreed to 
provide $10 billion. 

[20] At the July 2006 G-8 summit, the United States and Russia 
announced the creation of this nonbinding initiative under which 
partner nations agreed to a set of principles to enhance national, 
regional, and collective capabilities against nuclear terrorism. The 
initiative currently includes 82 partner nations and four official 
observer organizations. 

[21] United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 1540, adopted in 
April 2004, requires all states to adopt and enforce laws prohibiting 
proliferation, enact strict export controls, and secure all sensitive 
materials within their borders. The UN 1540 Committee focuses on 
identifying assistance projects for states in need and matching donors 
to improve their WMD controls. 

[22] This convention establishes security requirements for the 
protection of nuclear materials in international transit against 
terrorism. In 2005, the convention was amended to extend its scope to 
include nuclear material in domestic use, storage, and transport, as 
well as protection of nuclear material and facilities from sabotage. 
Entry into force of the amendment requires two-thirds ratification, 
acceptance, or approval of the 138 parties; only 41 have so far 
ratified, accepted, or approved the amendment. 

[23] A formula quantity of strategic special nuclear material (SSNM) 
means 2 Kg or more of plutonium, 5 Kg or more of uranium-235 contained 
in HEU, 2 Kg or more of uranium-233, or 5 Kg or more in any 
combination of material computed by the equation: grams = (grams of 
uranium-235 contained in HEU) + (2.5 X [grams uranium-233 + grams of 
plutonium]). A formula quantity of SSNM is also often referred to as 
Category I SSNM. 

[24] These 3 cities are part of a complex of 10 closed nuclear cities 
where access is restricted and which formed the core of the former 
Soviet Union's nuclear weapons complex. Many of these cities are in 
geographically remote locations and were so secret that they did not 
appear on any publicly available maps until 1992. 

[25] Since 1972, IAEA has provided its member states with guidelines 
for the physical protection of nuclear material, most recently in 1999. 

[26] GAO, National Nuclear Security Administration Has Improved the 
Security of Reactors in Its Global Research Reactor Program, but 
Action Is Needed to Address Remaining Concerns, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-949] (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 17, 
2009). 

[27] NNSA conducts MPC&A security upgrades in two phases: Rapid 
upgrades include improvements such as bricking up windows where 
material is stored; installing strengthened doors, locks, and nuclear 
container seals; and establishing controlled access areas. 
Comprehensive upgrades include electronic systems to detect intruders, 
central alarm stations, and computerized nuclear material accounting 
systems. 

[28] In reference to the MPC&A program work at Russian nuclear warhead 
and material locations, the term "site" typically refers to a complex 
of more than one building with nuclear warheads or materials, though 
some Russian sites of MPC&A cooperation do constitute a single 
building or individual handling facility. MPC&A upgrades may be made 
to the overall site perimeter in addition to individual buildings 
located within the site boundaries. 

[29] The scope of Russian facilities does not include 19 HEU-fueled 
research reactors that have been declared to have a solely military 
purpose, 2 reactors with a unique design such that conversion has 
already been determined to be technically unfeasible, and an 
unspecified number of Russian naval propulsion reactors fueled with 
HEU. 

[30] One national-level MPC&A sustainability project area with Russia 
has been completed--working with Russia to upgrade a federal 
information system to systematically collect, process, and analyze 
reports from Russian nuclear material sites on their nuclear material 
inventories. 

[31] According to NNSA's guidelines for sustaining and transitioning 
MPC&A systems in Russia, the seven elements that are key to an 
effective and sustainable MPC&A program are site MPC&A organization; 
site operating procedures; human resource management and site 
training; operational cost analysis; equipment maintenance, repair, 
and calibration; performance testing and operational monitoring; and 
MPC&A system configuration management. 

[32] The United States has 26 agreements in force for peaceful nuclear 
cooperation with foreign countries, the European Atomic Energy 
Community, IAEA, and Taiwan. For more information on this subject, see 
GAO, U.S.-Russia Nuclear Agreement: Interagency Process Used to 
Develop the Classified Nuclear Proliferation Assessment Needs to Be 
Strengthened, [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-743R] 
(Washington, D.C.: June 30, 2009); 2010 Resubmission of the U.S.-
Russia Nuclear Cooperation Agreement: Further Actions Needed by State 
and Other Agencies to Improve the Review of the Classified Nuclear 
Proliferation Assessment, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-1039R] (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 21, 
2010); and Nuclear Commerce: Governmentwide Strategy Could Help 
Increase Commercial Benefits from U.S. Nuclear Cooperation Agreements 
with Other Countries, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-36] (Washington, D.C.: Nov. 4, 
2010). 

[33] A Coordinated Research Project is an IAEA-supported collaborative 
research effort involving researchers from developing and 
industrialized countries to solve a problem of common interest 
relevant to nuclear technology. 

[34] Molybdenum-99 generates another isotope, technetium-99m, through 
the radioactive decay process that is used widely for diagnostic 
imaging procedures in nuclear medicine. The United States consumes 
roughly half of the world's supply of molybdenum-99. 

[End of section] 

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