Security analysts warn Fukushima nuke plant may help terrorists inflict mass destruction

Security analysts say that the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant may provide a new blueprint for terrorists seeking to inflict mass disruption.

The Japan Times reports that the U.N. atomic agency convened a weeklong meeting of 1,300 diplomats, scientists and security analysts in Vienna to examine ways to boost protection against nuclear terrorism.

Matthew Bunn, a Harvard University professor and former White House adviser, said that Fukushima sent a message to the terrorists that if power to the nuclear plant is cut for a longer period of time, it can cause major panic and disruption in the society.

According to the report, leaders across the globe have pledged to secure the world's loose nuclear material by 2014 to reduce the likelihood of an atomic attack by terrorists.

Kenneth Luongo, who with the U.S. Department of Energy helped secure atomic material in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union, said that Fukushima is a nuclear security problem as much as it was a nuclear safety problem.

The IAEA projected that nuclear power is set to expand worldwide, even after the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami sparked the triple-meltdown and radiation leaks at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 plant.

Igor Khripunov, the former Soviet arms-control envoy to the U.S. Georgia-based Center for International Trade and Security said that even a low-level radiological or dirty-bomb attack on Washington, while causing a limited number of deaths, would lead to damages of 100 billion dollars.

The most recent estimates by the International Panel on Fissile Materials indicate that there are at least 2 million kg of stockpiled weapons-grade nuclear material left over from decommissioned bombs and atomic-fuel plants, which is enough to make at least 100,000 new nuclear weapons on top of the 20,000 bombs already in state stockpiles.