Technical Challenges for Dismantlement Verification

In preparation for future nuclear arms reduction treaties, including any potential successor treaties to START I and II, we have been examining possible methods for bilateral warhead dismantlement verification. Warhead dismantlement verification raises significant challenges in the political, legal, and technical areas. The following discussion will focus on the technical issues raised by warhead arms controls. Technical complications arise from several sources. These will be discussed under the headings of warhead authentication, chain-of-custody, dismantlement verification, non-nuclear component tracking, component monitoring, and irreversiblity. WE will discuss possible technical options to address these challenges as applied to a generic dismantlement and disposition process, in the process identifying limitations and vulnerabilities associated wtih various approaches and suggesting methods to reduce possible vulnerabilities. We expect that these considerations will play a large role in any future arms reduction effort and, therefore, should be addressed in a timely fashion.