Report says nuclear explosion is an abiding risk

Zimbabwe News.Net
Thursday 20th November, 2008

A new report has been released to say the world still faces a serious risk of nuclear explosion, with weapons-making materials falling into wrong hands.

US President-elect Barack Obama has been made aware of the new report, titled: "Securing the Bomb 2008."

It is believed Mr Obama will make reducing nuclear risk a top priority of US policy.

The new report says while major progress has been made to reduce the dangers of nuclear terrorism, there are still major gaps in these efforts and the risk of terrorists acquiring a nuclear weapon remains unacceptably high.

It claims there are currently about 130 research reactors around the world that still use highly enriched uranium for fuel.

The report warns the potential for a disastrous attack is very real and could turn cities such as Washington or Manhattan into smoking ruins, leaving burnt land that would be unusable for decade.

The study is the seventh annual report from Harvard University's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.

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