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Non-proliferation is avoidance of the spread of knowledge and technology that can be used for the construction of nuclear arms. Non-proliferation is achieved by the combination of regulation and technical measures.

Meeting at the IAEA, the 'nuclear watchdog'

The nuclear Non-Proliferation policy aims to avoid the spread of nuclear arms and ultimately the nuclear disarmament.

Proliferation

Three types of proliferation are defined:

1. Vertical proliferation; the increase of the number of nuclear warheads and their quality in the existing inventories of the five nuclear weapon states.
2. Horizontal proliferation; the increase of the number of states with nuclear weapons.
3. Sub-national proliferation; the increase of the risk that sub-national organizations and co-operations will acquire nuclear weapons.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an agency of the UN. It is the most important organization with respect to the enforcement of the non-proliferation of nuclear weapon material and knowledge. The headquarters of the IAEA are located in Vienna, Austria.

Political instruments

• The Euratom Treaty, which is binding for all peaceful applications of nuclear technology in Europe,
• The IAEA Statute, which is the basis for a world-wide co-operation in all applications of nuclear techniques.
• The Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), in which all member states - except for the five nuclear weapon states that already had nuclear weapons at the time of signing (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) - promise not to acquire nuclear weapons.

The IAEA requires every NPT signatory to "declare" all nuclear facilities and subject them to the IAEA-NPT Safeguards regime. The IAEA then installs and operates monitoring systems at those sites and conducts the periodic and unannounced inspections deemed necessary to verify NPT compliance. The Euratom safeguards are an other guarantee that nuclear technology is used for peaceful purposes.

Abovementioned safeguards make it unlikely that a NPT or Euratom member state will undertake a nuclear project leading to nuclear weapon capability without 'the world' knowing about it. The safeguards are most effective in limiting the horizontal proliferation.

More Agreements

• Nuclear export policy, as agreed by the countries of the `Nuclear Suppliers Group'.
• The Convention for the external protection of fissile material, complemented by the applicable IAEA guidelines.

These two international agreements are among others aimed at the prevention of theft and sabotage and international trafficing of nuclear materials. States are free in their implementation of the safeguards.
International inspection to check the compliance with the requirements of the two agreements is politically no feasible. However, as part of aid to newly independent states (NIS) of the former Sovjet Union, an intensive co-operation for dedicated projects has been established. Modern management of nuclear materials is established as well as improved security.

Research at NRG

The research info the safe management of fissile material at NRG (formerly ECN Nuclear) is devoted to the development and sale of technical equipment and services needed for undertaking inspections.

Technological measures like the design of reactors using natural uranium or thorium as a fuel, and the design of fissile material from which plutonium can not be recovered, can contribute to a more proliferation-resistant form of nuclear power.
This issue is addressed in the NRG research into innovative reactor types. In addition, the NRG research into the 'burning' of actinides is aimed at reducing large stocks of fissile material that can be used for the production of nuclear weapons. These stocks have emerged by the dismantling of nuclear weapons and the fact that the construction of breeder reactors has not taken pace.

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Update 03 December 2003