In August, the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies completed a year-long project on strengthening security culture for users of radioactive material and sources in Central Asia and Azerbaijan. The effort led by Margarita Kalinina-Pohl, was sponsored by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) with funding from the Department of Energy’s National Security Administration’s (NNSA’s) Office of Radiological Security. It was implemented jointly with the CBRN Safety and Security Agency (CBRN SSA) of Tajikistan.
The project was implemented in two phases. The first, a three-day virtual seminar for regional professionals November 17-19, 2021, and the second, an in-person three-day regional meeting held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, July 25-27, 2022. The workshop ended with a discussion of ways to strengthen security culture at facilities with nuclear and radioactive material and sources. A few of the suggestions generated included: creating a legislative foundation for nuclear/radiological security culture using IAEA guidelines and other countries’ experiences, organizing work visits to countries/facilities with well-established security cultures, introducing nuclear/radiological security culture modules to university programs, and creating professional development opportunities for facilities’ personnel offered through regional or international training centers.