Is there enough focus on security?

In May, five people were caught breaking into a British nuclear reprocessing facility in Sellafield in an attempt to steal atomic materials.

In 2009 alone, 215 atomic materials, reserved for power generation or other commercial purposes, were stolen or disappeared, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Some of the stolen material is suspected of having been used for assassinations. In November 2006, a former spy for the Soviet Union’s intelligence agency was poisoned to death in London. A tiny amount of polonium-210 was found in his body, a rare case showing the use of atomic materials for homicide, British investigators said.

“The impact of nuclear terrorism in one country is not limited to that country. It poses a grave safety threat to its surrounding countries,” he said, underscoring international cooperation on the issue.