Nuclear Security Research

Our research efforts explore how personnel management, motivation, and training affect the security of WMD-related materials and technologies. The CITS team recognizes that equipment is no better than its user, and thus that technical fixes alone cannot assure the security of nuclear facilities and materials. Personnel at these facilities must have not only the technical acumen they need to discharge their duties, but also attitudes and habits befitting the great responsibility entrusted to them. Creating and sustaining a healthy “security culture” is largely a function of leadership.

CITS has published a number of research reports on the human element of security. The reports define the concept of nuclear security culture in detail and offer a methodology for evaluating and improving the culture at individual nuclear installations.

In the fall of 2005, CITS organized and co-sponsored a NATO Advanced Research Workshop titled Nuclear Security Culture: From National Best Practices to International Standards in Moscow. The workshop brought together nearly 100 experts from the government, industry, and academic sectors in 35 countries to discuss the security challenges facing stewards of nuclear materials worldwide, and to develop a common understanding of nuclear security culture.