The surplus of plutonium in the world is both an important security
issue, and a fact with implications for nuclear energy and environmental
policy internationally. The two perspectives are inextricably
intertwined in considering options for dealing with the plutonium
surplus. It was for this reason that two research programmes at the
Royal Institute of International Affairs - respectively on Energy and
Environment, and on International Security - jointly approached NATO
with a view to organising a work- shop on the issue. It was most welcome
then to learn that the NATO Science Programe was already supporting
plans for a workshop on the issue, initiated by Richard Garwin, and we
were pleased to accept the resulting invitation to host that workshop.
DrGarwin prepared the initial agenda and established contacts and
initial approaches to many of the participants; we were able to develop
the agenda further and extend participation in some complementary ways.
The result was a most lively and broad-ranging internation- al and
inter-disciplinary discussion. As the hosts, the RIIA was also given
lead responsibility for producing the pro- ceedings of the workshop as a
publication for NATO. Many of the papers to the work- shop are more
technical than usually involved in a workshop at the Royal Institute.
Yet this is an area in which the policy options are unusually dependent
upon a good under- standing of the technical issues. which themselves
are often a matter of dispute.