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1 Page O. Stoutland, The NTI Nuclear Materials Security Index 1 (2012)

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The NTI Nuclear Materials Security Index
Page 0. Stoutland
Nuclear Threat Initiative
ABSTRACT
The Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) Nuclear Materials Security Index is a first-of-
its-kind public benchmark assessment of nuclear materials security conditions
on a country-by-country basis. The NTI Index, prepared with the Economist
Intelligence Unit (EIU) and guided by an international panel of nuclear security
experts, was created to catalyse an international discussion about nuclear
materials security priorities, and to encourage governments to provide
assurances and take actions to strengthen nuclear materials security. The project
draws on NTI's nuclear expertise, the EIU's experience in constructing indices,
and the reach of the EIU's global network of 900 analysts and contributors. The
NTI Index can be accessed online at <www.ntiindex.org>.
INTRODUCTION
The NTI Nuclear Materials Security Index is a unique public baseline assessment
of the status of security conditions of weapons-usable nuclear materials around
the world.' The NTI Index assesses and scores each state across a broad range of
publicly available indicators of a state's nuclear materials security practices and
conditions, and is a first-of-its-kind analysis because of its approach and scope.
The Index is not a facility-by-facility review of guns, guards and gates or an
on-the-ground review of materials control and accounting practices. Information
about the security measures in place at specific facilities is understandably
sensitive and should remain so.
Such an assessment is needed to measure risk, track progress and hold states
accountable. It is also important for building international confidence in the
security of the world's most dangerous materials. To that end, the Index should be
considered more than simply a scorecard: it provides a foundation for the urgent
and ongoing work of strengthening security. It also offers a path forward through
recommendations for individual states and for the international community to
keep the materials needed to build a nuclear bomb out of dangerous hands.
Weapons-usable nuclear materials today are stored at hundreds of sites in
approximately 30 countries around the globe. Many of those sites are well
secured. Some are not, leaving weapons-usable nuclear materials vulnerable to
1  This inaugural NTI Index has greatly benefited from the rich analytic work provided by Matthew
Bunn in his Securing the Bomb series, funded by NTI. The work of the International Panel on
Fissile Materials has also been an indispensable resource.

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