Nuclear Confidence Building in South Asia
Last updated: October 21, 2008
Author
ACDIS Research Report series
June 1995
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Summary
An analysis made in this report of fissile materials production cutoffs and more ambitious nuclear materials control measures for South Asia highlights the importance of concentrating near term research efforts on more modest confidence building measures. Options for furthering such nuclear confidence building measures are examined in the context of a review of recent literature on South Asian nuclear programs. A preliminary analysis of limitations on the likely demand for commercial reactor fissile fuels in South Asia suggests that there is a pressing need for a complete quantitative study of future South Asian fissile fuel supply and demand, with and without assuming free access to international markets. If properly carried out with adequate involvement by South Asian personnel, the pursuit of such a study would open valuable lines of communication; and it could contribute to developing international understanding concerning the production, reprocessing, and dispositioning of plutonium. An analysis was also made of prospects for cooperative development of high energy neutron sources for possible future use in the monitoring of nuclear wastes and/or fuel. Particular technical attention was paid to an analysis of computational simulation codes for a promising plasma source. Improvement of the available simulation techniques was identified as an especially promising area for an initial small scale international collaboration.
