 "Photo: Ryan Propes; The Daily Texan")
Controlling the threat of global nuclear attacks continues to be a difficult task for government and non-governmental agencies, said Joan Woodard of Sandia National Laboratories at a Tuesday discussion on campus.
The laboratory, with locations in California and New Mexico, focuses on increasing national security through a variety of research programs aimed at reducing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the threat of nuclear accidents, according to their Web site.
Woodard, the laboratory’s executive vice president, spoke to around 40 UT professors and students about Sandia’s role in analyzing the challenges in controlling nuclear technology.
“It is difficult to impose hard sanctions on countries such as Afghanistan to export nuclear materials,” Woodard said. “Also, verifying that civilian nuclear facilities are only being used for civilian use prove to be a major issue in controlling nuclear technology.”
Woodard spoke of analyzing the problems of international nuclear control, which include the continual development of nuclear technology and the sale of nuclear materials to a global market. Problems such as the misuse of uranium obtained by mining and nuclear power production pose a large threat to nuclear proliferation.
“The challenges today in international security requires tenacity — the tenacity to know there is an answer to solving the challenges of nuclear proliferation,” she said.
Woodard discussed some proposed solutions to reduce the threat of a nuclear attack.
She suggested adding pressure to the International Atomic Energy Agency, a U.N. sub-agency that works with members to control nuclear weapon usage, to reduce proliferation of nuclear weapons. Woodward also advised dismantling North Korea’s nuclear weapons, reducing global expansion of nuclear energy and installing new, non-governmental programs for nuclear security.
“There is not one silver bullet, but many,” Woodard said.
During her talk, Woodard asked the audience what they would do about nuclear proliferation if they were elected president of the United States.
“I would focus on dismantling North Korea of their nuclear weapons before working to unite North and South Korea,” said public affairs graduate student Marsha Lewis. “If they were united before North Korea would be dismantled, they could form another nuclear stronghold in Asia.”
Albert Swantner, mechanical engineering graduate student, agreed that nuclear weapons control is lacking around the world, especially in countries such as India and Pakistan.
“We need to increase democratic relations between countries to maintain global security,” Swantner said.
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