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AGA: Arbeitsgruppe Physik und Abrüstung

AGA 7: Proliferation Challenges

AGA 7.2: Invited Talk

Friday, March 24, 2023, 13:45–14:30, HSZ/0002

The Challenge of Nuclear-Powered Submarines to IAEA Safeguards — •Tariq Rauf — Vienna

The decisions by Australia to import eight nuclear-powered submarines (SSNs) fueled with 97.3% highly-enriched uranium (HEU) from either the US or the UK, and by Brazil to develop its own SSNs fueled with low-enriched uranium (LEU) with technical assistance from France and Germany, have exposed fundamental weaknesses in the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and its related IAEA safeguards (verification) system. The NPT only covers "peaceful nuclear activities" while the IAEA safeguards system for NPT non-nuclear-weapon States (NNWS) includes an exemption from verification of "non-proscribed military activities". The IAEA Secretariat and the IAEA Board of Governors seemingly are deeply confused and divided over the safeguards implications of these SSN-acquisition programmes. This presentation will describe the problems and suggest possible ways of dealing with them and preserving the 50-year old nuclear non-proliferation regime.