Leo Szilard Lectureship Award Talk: Controlling and eliminating nuclear-weapon materials

Fissile material -- in practice plutonium and highly enriched uranium (HEU) -- is the essential ingredient in nuclear weapons. Controlling and eliminating fissile material and the means of its production is therefore the common denominator for nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation and the prevention of nuclear terrorism. From a fundamentalist anti-nuclear-weapon perspective, the less fissile material there is and the fewer locations where it can be found, the safer a world we will have. A comprehensive fissile-material policy therefore would have the following elements: \begin{enumerate} \item Consolidation of all nuclear-weapon-usable materials at a minimum number of high-security sites; \item A verified ban on the production of HEU and plutonium for weapons; \item Minimization of non-weapon uses of HEU and plutonium; and \item Elimination of all excess stocks of plutonium and HEU. \end{enumerate} There is activity on all these fronts but it is not comprehensive and not all aspects are being pursued vigorously or competently. It is therefore worthwhile to review the situation.