The security risks intrinsic in nuclear power have been foreseen ever since the dawn of the nuclear age brought World War II to an end. Over almost three decades, efforts to develop safeguards against diversion of nuclear material have been intertwined with the development of the technology required for the economical use of nuclear energy to generate electric power.

Both safeguards and nuclear power are tied, on the one hand, to the nuclear arms race and the proliferation of nuclear weapon capabilities and, on the other, to rapidly increasing demands for energy, especially electric power. All of these developments have global dimensions.

This appendix outlines the major historical events and trends which have conditioned the formulation of U.S. government policy regarding safeguards against diversion of material from the nuclear power industry. The primary purpose is to provide the general reader with some idea of the magnitude and complexity of the forces which bear upon the nuclear diversion problem.

The history is divided into two major parts: the first deals with the development of nuclear power, and the second with the development of safeguards against nuclear diversion.

DEVELOPMENT OF NUCLEAR POWER¹