Since the end of the Cold War, the nuclear threats facing the world are
dramatically evolving and have become even much more complex. However,
the events of the past years have proved the necessity to reevaluate
these threats on a level never before considered. The need to prevent,
detect and respond to Nuclear/Radiological threats leads to many
requirements that are not met by current scientific technologies and
scientific communities.
For this concern now we are aware and recognize, the first, that no
single institution (no single country) possesses all the required assets
to address these complex problems. It will require the formation of
international science and technology teams that combine multiple
scientific disciplines and span from basic research to systems
engineering and manufacturing; the second, that fundamental scientific
challenges must be overcome to achieve new and improved technologies
that effectively counter radiological and nuclear threats.
The primary goal of any counter-terrorism effort is to prevent an attack
as early in the development stages as possible. Many current approaches
employed to prevent a nuclear/radiological attack rely upon detection of
materials. Another general category of threat reduction involves
preventing acquisition or utilization of the materials. Therefore while
the organizers and participants of this meeting recognize that the
Nuclear/Radiological threats is extremely broad, we necessarily limited
the scope of this NATO Advanced Research Workshop and the programme
focused on science and technology challenges associated with our need to
prevent, detect and respond to Nuclear/Radiological threats.
The book can serve as a tool for communicating the outcomes of the
workshop not only to the multi-national scientific and technical
communities engaged in combating nuclear/ radiological terrorism, but
also to those working at governmental and policy levels whose actions
affect the directions the science takes and how the technology is
incorporated into country-specific national systems for combating
nuclear/radiological terrorism.
