Perilous nuclear material needs care

Terrorists with nukes is a nightmare scenario that makes compelling reading of a new report assessing how well nuclear materials are secured around the world.

It would be a herculean task for a terrorist group or rogue nation to get weapons-grade nuclear material and build a bomb. But it's a classic low-probability, high-risk threat because of the deadly, society-changing devastation it would unleash.

Weapons-grade plutonium and highly enriched uranium are stored at hundreds of sites in 32 countries, according to the nuclear materials security index developed by the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a private advocacy group.

Using obscure but publicly available documents, the index ranks nations based on factors such as the quantity of nuclear material stored, physical protections, tracking, transportation security, political stability and corruption. Some sites are well secured, but many are not, raising the specter that terrorists could steal or buy the materials on the black market.

Australia ranked the most secure, North Korea the least. Largely due to the amount of the materials it possesses, the United States tied with Belgium for 13th.

Governments are becoming more aware of the threat, due in part to a summit in Washington in 2010. But there is no consensus on best practices for tracking and securing the critical fuel for nuclear bombs. It's a job the world must do better.