Proliferation (weapons of mass destruction)

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Proliferation ( Latin proles , `` offspring '', `` scion '' and ferre `` carry '') refers to the transfer of weapons of mass destruction ( nuclear , biological , chemical and radiological weapons ) including their delivery systems , technologies , know-how and the materials required for their production or of components. The opposite term is nonproliferation . Sometimes the term is also used for the spread of small arms .

General

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The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (also known as NBC weapons) represents one of the greatest security risks worldwide. Some states are making intensive efforts to obtain possession of NBC weapons and the delivery technologies required for their use. They try to procure products and relevant know-how illegally abroad, among other things. As one of the leading industrial nations and the location of numerous high-tech companies, Germany is a worthwhile destination for such illegal activities. Proliferation efforts can lead to a reassessment of the own threat situation in the respective neighboring countries. This can lead to a military arms race in the affected regions.

The problem is that chemical, biological and radiological weapons are sometimes relatively easy to manufacture. Another problem with proliferation is the so-called dual-use goods, which can be used for both civil and military purposes, in particular for the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems.

States and international organizations have tried in the past to curb proliferation through agreements and surveillance measures (English: Safeguards ). Examples are the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Chemical Weapons Convention .

During the Cold War era , most weapons of mass destruction were owned by the USSR and the US . After the collapse of the Soviet Union , there were fears that weapons of mass destruction could be stolen from the stocks of the Red Army , among other things for terrorist purposes. In general, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction also harbors a danger because they serve as a deterrent and some states are willing to use them for this purpose. One of the official reasons for America’s Third Gulf War against Iraq was post-rebuttal claims that the country possessed or was about to acquire weapons of mass destruction.

A certain proliferation risk by the nuclear sharing of NATO . The participating states, which are not official nuclear powers , have, at least in theory, the possibility of obtaining physical access to nuclear weapons stored on their territory . On the one hand, however, it is questionable whether they would be prepared in individual cases to bear the political consequences of forcibly gaining actual control over US nuclear weapons, which are guarded by US guards. On the other hand, the security system Permissive Action Link , which protects US nuclear weapons from unauthorized use, would have to be overcome.

Defense against proliferation

The Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA) plays an important role in the defense against proliferation in Germany . It carries out export controls to protect German security interests and those of the international community . Some goods , for example dual-use goods, require a permit when they are exported to certain countries . Some of them are recorded in extensive lists. BAFA checks whether the export of goods is subject to authorization and whether it is eligible. BAFA also monitors embargoes on non-proliferation, the cross-border movement of radioactive materials and coordinates international non-proliferation agreements and institutions such as the Chemical Weapons Convention or the Nuclear Suppliers Group .

The Federal Intelligence Service ( BND) prepares analyzes that show general trends and strategic developments in relation to the manufacture or availability of weapons of mass destruction, but also reports on identified and verifiable cases of proliferation. The BND also uses intelligence services for this purpose and works closely with a large number of foreign intelligence services . The knowledge gained is made available to the federal government , is incorporated into political decisions and is also made available to the responsible authorities in Germany.

Defense against proliferation in Germany is also a task of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the constitutional protection authorities of the federal states . They clarify the illegal procurement of goods, technologies and know-how for the development and manufacture of weapons of mass destruction as well as their financing in Germany and help to prevent them. To this end, they work closely with BAFA, the BND, the Customs Criminal Police Office (ZKA) and the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA). The experience of the security authorities has shown that science , industry and banks are often unable to identify the true proliferation-relevant intentions of their “business partners”. So they run the risk of making themselves criminal by z. B. against the Foreign Trade Act or against Section 99 of the Criminal Code ( secret service agent activity ).

Aspects relevant to proliferation are also dealt with in the Joint Extremism and Terrorism Defense Center (GETZ). By bundling the expertise of all authorities involved and ensuring the most complete and rapid flow of information possible, the fight against proliferation is to be improved.

For issuing visas for visiting scientists and businessmen will examine the extent takes place within the framework of the proposed research or business project, a technology transfer, which could be a contribution in connection with weapons of mass destruction, their delivery systems or conventional weapons systems.

Conversion of weapons plutonium into MOX fuel elements

In the most dangerous area of ​​proliferation, that of nuclear weapons, after the end of the Cold War , in addition to the traditional instrument of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, further efforts are being made to prevent the proliferation. In 1994, for example, the US and Russia signed an agreement to reduce their nuclear arsenals and to safely dispose of disarmed nuclear warheads. The contract and the Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement from 2010 provide that the USA also take over some of the particularly proliferation-endangered Russian stocks and, together with their own stocks, make them harmless in a safe way. Special systems are being built in the Savannah River Site ( Georgia , USA) to dismantle the nuclear warheads and to utilize the plutonium produced in the process for generating energy in nuclear power plants. This includes u. a. a MOX factory. These systems have long been criticized in Europe because of their risk of accidents and proliferation. For example, the factory and storage facilities B. be strictly guarded because plutonium is there (both in the metallic weapon as in the powdery oxide state) in a form that can easily be spread.

After a test phase, the US plans to use the MOX fuel elements made from the weapons plutonium in the Catawba , McGuire and North Anna nuclear power plants located near the Savannah River Site . The choice of the first two 2-block NPPs mentioned is (as of 2001) very controversial. The four pressurized water reactors only have a thin-walled containment , the weakness of which - but only in the case of more harmless so-called design incidents - should be compensated for by more reliable so-called ice condensers. Non-governmental organizations criticize the fact that these NPPs, selected for economic reasons , are supposed to split the surplus weapons plutonium for the purpose of energy production and convert it into a more proliferation-resistant form for final storage . It is generally recognized that in the event of an extensive release of radioactivity, MOX fuel elements have radiologically more serious consequences than normal uranium fuel elements (which melted in Chernobyl around 1986 ).

Between 1993 and 2013, the USA and Russia successfully cooperated on the megaton to megawatt disarmament project. As a result, the equivalent of 20,000 Russian nuclear warheads was withdrawn from military use. The generation of electricity from 500 tons of Russian nuclear weapon material covered 10 percent of the electricity generated in the USA for 20 years. Russia received US $ 17 billion for this.

For cost reasons, the USA is planning to dilute its own plutonium with non-radioactive material instead of converting it into MOX fuel elements as agreed. However, the dilution could be reversed (with great effort). On October 3, 2016, the President of Russia , Putin , ordered the agreement to be suspended because the US had failed to fulfill its obligations.

In May 2018, Energy Secretary Rick Perry informed the US Congress that the 70 percent completed project (Savannah River Site) was over. The cost of a diluted and discarded approach to the plutonium is less than half the remaining life cycle cost of the MOX plant program.

See also

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Proliferation - We have a responsibility (as of July 2018). (PDF) In: http://www.verfassungsschutz.de/ . Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution for the federal and state authorities for the protection of the constitution, accessed on December 19, 2018 .
  2. ↑ proliferation. In: http://www.bnd.bund.de/ . Retrieved December 19, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Joint Extremism and Terrorism Defense Center (GETZ). In: http://www.verfassungsschutz.de/ . Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, accessed on December 19, 2018 .
  4. ↑ Annual report 2017. (PDF) In: http://www.bafa.de/ . Retrieved December 19, 2018 .
  5. ↑ Ch. Küppers, M. Sailer: MOX economy or the civil use of plutonium. IPPNW e. V. 1994.
  6. ↑ PDF at www.nrc.gov
  7. ↑ Obama seeks to terminate MOX project at Savannah River , World Nuclear News, February 10, 2016.
  8. ↑ Pavel Podvig: Can the US-Russia plutonium disposition agreement be saved? Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, April 28, 2016.
  9. ↑ Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 03.10.2016 № 511
  10. ^ Perry scraps completion of US MOX facility , World Nuclear News. May 16, 2018. Retrieved May 17, 2018. 

Web links

Wiktionary: Proliferation  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations