Next Meltdown? Responding to a Nuclear Accident in the Developing World
Abstract
"As the twenty-first century begins, an increasing number of developing nations are aggressively pursuing the use of nuclear power as a source of electricity. Much attention within the international security community has been placed on the growth of reactors within the context of nuclear weapons development and nuclear terrorism. A major accident involving a nuclear reactor or stored nuclear waste may be a more likely possibility, albeit one that has received considerably less attention in terms of disaster planning and response. In the aftermath of such a disaster, intervention by the United States, and other Western nations, may be warranted. In the context of homeland security operations in such a scenario, major challenges will revolve around efforts to detect and deter the importation of goods contaminated with radionuclides, and screening and processing of refugees and immigrants from nations and territories affected by the nuclear accident."
Description
This article appeared in Homeland Security Affairs (February 2012), v.8, article 2
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