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THE ETHICAL DEBATE OF PREVENTING NUCLEAR TERROR
Andrew Bulman (arb112@pitt.edu)
Russia to develop programs to help repair and monitor
radiation detection equipment [6]. I believe that if more
emphasis was placed on developing equipment to monitor
the nuclear reactors then engineers would be able to design a
reasonably cost-effective way to observe the nuclear
material levels in the reactors. If the levels were to change,
then this program would allow the government to know and
take the necessary actions to insure that no materials were
stolen. If the government began to rely on the accuracy of
these monitors then it brings in issues of ethics because
people have to be able to trust the engineers to create the
best possible piece of equipment to guard dangerous nuclear
materials.
CUTTING OFF THE SOURCE
In 2008, The National Academy of Engineering named 14
‘Grand Challenges for Engineering’ that do not have
solutions yet but which many engineers are working on [1].
Each of these problems are very important for engineers to
solve but I believe the challenge of ‘Preventing Nuclear
Terror’ should be a primary focus because nuclear attacks
can cause serious destruction and mayhem to those affected
by them [2]. In particular, one specific area I think
engineers need to focus on to combat ‘Nuclear Terror’ is to
prevent terrorists from stealing materials to create nuclear
weapons or stealing the weapons themselves. I strongly
believe the easiest way to end nuclear terror is to prevent
terrorists from gaining nuclear materials because they cannot
have nuclear weapons without the materials first.
One
technique for preventing terrorists from stealing nuclear
materials is to design a device that monitors the materials in
nuclear reactors. When engineers are designing new
devices, like monitors for nuclear reactors, they need to
follow the Code of Ethics created by the National Society of
Professional Engineers (NSPE) or it would cause many
problems [3]. In particular, I think engineers that are
designing this equipment need to be careful to follow the
code when it corresponds to relations with the public and
acting as faithful employees.
POSSIBLE ETHICAL ISSUES
The reason that the National Academy of Engineering
named ‘Preventing Nuclear Terror’ as one of the grand
challenges is because it is a very important topic for
engineers [1]. When something is important there normally
are many things that could go wrong if rules or regulations
are not followed. To prevent as many mishaps as possible,
the National Society of Professional Engineers provides
guidelines for engineers to follow when they create new
devices such as one to monitor nuclear reactors [3]. These
nuclear reactors can be found all over the world and the
reactors themselves or the materials inside of them are not
safe in the wrong hands. If engineers are to be trusted with
designing devices that will protect the dangerous materials
from being stolen by terrorists or other organizations, there
have to be rules that they must follow so that governments
can trust them.
For example, one of the Rules of Practice is that engineers
must be truthful when giving public addresses because the
public should know if there are possible dangers with the
engineers’ creations [3]. Without this rule, there would be
times when engineers would be untruthful to the public and
create an illusion of safety when, in fact, there could be
serious problems at hand. Also, another principle is that
engineers are expected to design their products to the highest
possible standard. It would be easy for an engineer who had
begun working for a terrorist organization to sabotage one of
the devices on the nuclear reactors if engineers were not
expected to design the best equipment. By having these
principles, engineers are required to work in teams to design
the best equipment so there would be a much better chance
that they would catch a person that is working for terrorists.
Some people are naturally greedy and there are,
DEFENDING THE CORE
Engineers should design monitors to protect nuclear reactors
because many countries do not defend their nuclear
materials safely. It is hard to believe that countries would
leave their extremely dangerous and unstable nuclear
materials in an insecure facility, but many nuclear power
reactors are very vulnerable to terrorist’s attacks and thefts
because only fences and few personnel guard the nuclear
reactors. [4]. This year, the International Atomic Energy
Agency reported that there have been 25 incidents of stolen
nuclear materials reported and there are enough nuclear
supplies missing to build up to five nuclear bombs [5]. The
possibility of terrorists having five nuclear bombs is a scary
thought and I think it is important for engineers to quickly
develop an effective way to protect the nuclear reactors that
terrorists have been able to steal from in the past. One way
to do this would be to have a device that can monitor the
nuclear materials inside of the nuclear reactor [2].
Many countries like Greece and other Eastern European
countries have been working with the United States and
University of Pittsburgh
Swanson School of Engineering
28 October 2010
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unfortunately, people who would do things to get money
even if they are not right. Having a Code of Ethics for
engineers it is a good safety device from having more of
these people in the world. The computer engineers that
would be designing the monitors for the nuclear reactors are
required to work their hardest and do their best work by the
Code of Ethics but also, the employers/managers are
obligated to supervise and make sure they are following the
code. Having these rules set in place make solving the
challenge of ‘Preventing Nuclear Terror’ a more realistic
result because the engineers can be trusted to do the best
possible job or someone else will do it for them. Part of
being able to do the best possible job is to be educated in the
best possible ways and being aware of global problems like
the Grand Challenges is an important part of being a welleducated engineer.
that there are many big problems that need to be dealt with
and that is why there are some problems like the recent oil
spill in the Gulf of Mexico that are not fixed right away.
People want the problem to be fixed but they forget about all
the ongoing problems that engineers are working on at the
same time. Defeating the challenge of ‘Preventing Nuclear
Terror’ would be very tough for engineers to accomplish
even if it was the only job for engineers to do but with all the
other problems out there it is going to take a lot of hard work
from many well-educated people. Learning about these
challenges is the very beginning to solving the problems so I
encourage other schools to do research assignments like we
have for our engineering analysis class to broaden their own
horizons.
THE VALUE OF EDUCATION
For engineers to solve the challenges introduced by the
National Academy of Engineering, they need to understand
the problems that we, as humans, face. It would be much
more effective for engineers to understand what they are
trying to solve before they attempt to solve the problem. By
having freshman engineering students research specific
topics, it will allow for us to have a better understanding of
the world when we are older so we will be able to solve
problems easier then the students that do not understand the
issues that engineers must deal with. By researching the
monitors that can detect changes in the nuclear materials in
reactors, I understand the work engineers do once they
graduate better than someone who has not done research on
a similar topic. With serious problems like nuclear terror in
the world, we need to have codes that people must follow to
prevent accidents or attacks from occurring in the future.
Learning the Code of Ethics when we are freshman will
allow us to understand what is expected of us when we are
ready to graduate as engineers or make us realize that this is
not the right major for us. The best way to solve a problem
is to know what you are up against, whether it is an
engineering Grand Challenge or deciding the correct major.
This research project will help freshman in both aspects and
it would be a great idea for other engineering schools to do
comparable projects.
DEFEATING NUCLEAR TERROR
As a freshman engineer researching information about the
Grand Challenges and reading the Code of Ethics, I would
definitely encourage other schools to do similar research
projects. After reading the Code of Ethics, it made me
understand what it would be like to be an engineer and the
reason it is a respected profession. There is lots of hard
work that goes into becoming and working as an engineer
but the fundamental canons of the code really make it seem
like an important job. Engineers are the people that are
making life easier for everyone else while being honorable
and responsible. I believe that a freshman student that is
considering studying to become an engineer should do a
research assignment similar to this one so that they
understand more about the engineering profession.
As freshman engineers, it would be too early for us to take
a class where we actually learned how the devices that
monitor nuclear reactors work or how they are built but it is
a great idea for freshman to learn different types of
engineering and see realistic engineering projects. I believe
that students who know more about global problems will
understand them better and therefore, be able to succeed
later in life. It is a good idea to begin broadening the
students’ horizons as freshman so that they will have a better
understanding when they are upperclassmen with more
knowledge.
Even though I have spent the last few weeks researching
about defending nuclear reactor cores and similar ideas, I
know that I only have a very basic understanding of how the
devices work and are built. I do not think students can be
expected to know the specifics for their challenges but
projects like these will be helpful later in our education
when we are taught how engineers create these inventions.
By studying nuclear terror and reading through the other
challenges it is easier to understand why there are always
problems and sometimes it does not seem like they are
getting fixed. I think the public does not always understand
REFERENCES
[1] (2008) “Introduction to the Grand Challenges for Engineering.”
National Academy of Engineering Grand Challenges For Engineering.
[Online].
Available:
http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/cms/8996/9221.aspx.
2010
September 29.
[2] (2010) “Prevent Nuclear Terror.” National Academy of Engineering
Grand Challenges For Engineering.
[Online].
Available:
http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/cms/8996/9134.aspx.
2010
September 29.
[3 “NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers.” National Society of Professional
Engineers.
[Online}.
http://www.nspe.org/Ethics/CodeofEthics/index.html.
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[4] C. Joyner. “Countering Nuclear Terrorism: A Conventional Response.”
The European Journal of International Law. [Online]. Available:
http://ejil.oxfordjournals.org/content/18/2/225.full.pdf+html.
2010
September 29.
[5] V. Wilson. “The Power of Zero.” Newsweek. [Online]. Available:
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/07/30/the-power-of-zero.html.
2010
September 29.
[6] J. Goodby. “Deploying Nuclear Detection Systems: A Proposed
Strategy for Combating Nuclear Terrorism.” Center for Technology and
National Security Policy National Defense University. [Online]. Available:
http://www.ndu.edu/CTNSP/docUploaded/DTP%2041%20NuclearDetectio
nStrategy.pdf. 2010 September 29.
[7] D. Gotterbarn. “Computer Society and ACM Approve Software
Engineer Code of Ethics.”
Computer Society Connection.
http://www.computer.org/cms/Computer.org/Publications/code-ofethics.pdf. [Online].
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank my Engineering Analysis teacher,
Professor Bursic, for her help during this project. Also,
Julianne McAdoo was a big help to my essay because of the
way she explained the topic to the class. In addition, I want
to thank my roommate Mark Bradel for giving me a quiet
space to work in and concentrate.
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