Nuclear Forensics: Role, State of the Art, Program Needs

This report was produced by a joint Working Group (WG) of the American Physical Society (APS) Panel on Public Affairs and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Center Science, Technology and Security Policy.  The primary purpose of this report is to provide the Congress, U.S. government agencies and other institutions involved in nuclear forensics with a clear unclassified statement on the the state of the art of nuclear forensics; and assessment of its potential for preventing and identifying unattributed nuclear attacks; and identification of the policies, resources and human talent to fulfill that potential.  The WG formally met twice, once in Washington, D.C., and once in Palo Alto, California, to hear presentation from staff of the DOE/NNSA, the DHS, the DOS, the DTRA, and Congress.  The sessions were unclassified, although several members of the WG have access to classified material.