The New Nuclear Forensics
Analysis of Nuclear Materials for Security Purposes
SIPRI Monographs Series

Nuclear forensics is the science of determining the history of a sample of radioactive material through the study of the material's characteristics. While nuclear forensic analysis has normally been associated with investigations and prosecutions in the context of trafficking of nuclear materials or nuclear terrorism, it has wider applications in various national security contexts, such as nuclear non-proliferation, disarmament, and arms control. The New Nuclear Forensics provides a survey and an analysis of the scientific discipline of nuclear forensic analysis, and the way it is applied to specific issues of international peace and security, from the 1940s to the present day. This book describes the various methods used in nuclear forensics, giving first a general introduction to the process followed by details of relevant measurement techniques and procedures. In each case, the advantages and limitations are outlined. It uses a language and methodology that opens the issue of nuclear forensics and its potential applications to a non-specialist readership.

Vitaly Fedchenko is a Senior Researcher at SIPRI, where his research focuses on nuclear security issues and the political, technological, and educational dimensions of nuclear arms control and non-proliferation. Previously, he worked at the Center for Policy Studies in Russia (PIR Center) and the Institute for Applied International Research (IAIR), Moscow. His publications include Reforming Nuclear Export Controls: The Future of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, SIPRI Research Report no. 22 (2007, co-author).