INTERNATIONAL ASPECTS OF CREATING A STATE SYSTEM FOR COUNTERING THE ILLEGAL CIRCULATION OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION. IN: TERRORISM. REDUCING VULNERABILITIES AND IMPROVING RESPONSES. U.S.-RUSSIAN WORKSHOP PROCEEDINGS.

This chapter on countering the illegal circulation of radioactive materials in the Russian Federation is from a book that gathers papers and proceedings from workshops held between 2001 and 2003 of meetings of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) and the National Academies of Science (NAS, United States), focusing on reducing vulnerabilities and improving responses to terrorism. The author describes the practical measures that are being taken in the Russian Federation for combating the potential for nuclear and radiological terrorism. The author outlines five proposals: a draft of a state system for countering the illegal circulation of these materials both within the Russian Federation and across its borders; an organization that links and organizes the activities of the basic law enforcement and customs agencies, ministries, and departments dealing with the nuclear sector, and other interested organizations; the creation of a model district in the Moscow region as an element of the overall plan; the development of devices for the detection, location, and identification of the illegal circulation of radioactive materials; and the creation of a well-developed information system on matters related to the illegal circulation of radioactive materials, including a number of central and agency-specific databases. One illustration graphically depicts how the proposed system would operate and how different levels of the system interrelate.