Congressional Briefings

• Commercial Radioactive Sources: Surveying the Security Risks
  Senate Dirksen Building, Room 419
  February 7, 2003
  Charles Ferguson, Monterey Institute of International Studies

  The author met with staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to discuss a recently released report on radiological sources commonly used in science, medicine and industry. The report, part of an on-going CNS study on the "Faces of Nuclear Terrorism," concludes that the challenge of securing commercial radioactive sources around the world is difficult, but manageable. It provides practical recommendations to government and industry that, if implemented, could significantly reduce this component of the dirty bomb threat over the next five years.

• U.S. Security and the Future Environment in Space: Managing Debris and Radiation
  Senate Russell Building, Room 188
  July 24, 2002
  Clay Moltz, Monterey Institute of International Studies
  Dennis Papadopoulos , Department of Physics, University of Maryland
  Nicholas Johnson , Orbital Debris Program Manager, NASA, Johnson Space Center
  Richard DalBello , Executive Director, Satellite Industry Association

  Speakers reviewed and commented on technical aspects of the problems of orbital space debris and man-made radiation, particularly as they are likely to affect future scientific, commercial, and military activities in space.

• Russia's Nuclear Submarine Fleet: Environmental and Proliferation Threats
  Senate Russell Building, Room 385
  June 28, 2002
  Clay Moltz, Monterey Institute of International Studies
  Alexabdar Pikayev, Carnegie Endowment Moscow Center
  William Youngstrom, Defense Threat Reduction Agency
  Stanislav Kucher, Russian Journalist and Filmmaker

  Presentors discussed Kucher's path-breaking documentary, which aired on Moscow television in fall 2001. The film depicts the state of Russia's decaying Northern Fleet submarines and associated spent nuclear fuel storage areas, illuminating in stark detail the environmental hazards and potential terrorist threats they pose.

• Keeping Track of Anthrax: The Case for a Biosecurity Convention
  Senate Dirksen Building, Room 419
  June 3, 2002
  Amy Sands, Monterey Institute of International Studies
  Jonathan Tucker, Monterey Institute of International Studies

  The authors discussed their proposal for a "Biosecurity Convention" to reduce the risk of bioterrorism. This international treaty would establish legally binding restrictions on access to and commerce in dangerous pathogens, together with uniform standards of biosecurity and biosafety for microbial culture collections around the world.

• Terorism and the Threat of Smallpox in the United States
  U.S. Capitol, Room SC-6
  November 14, 2001
  Marshall Billingslea, United States Department of Defense
  Michael Ascher, United States Department of Health and Human Services
  Jonathan Tucker, Monterey Institute of International Studies

  After a thorough review of bioterrorism policy, the Administration announced its intention to preserve U.S. stockpiles of the smallpox virus to facilitate research on antiviral drugs, improve diagnostics and develop a safer vaccine. Representatives from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Defense presented their views on the Administration's decision to preserve the smallpox virus stocks at the Centers for Disease Control.