President George W. Bush Dec. 30 signed the instrument of ratification for a U.S. additional protocol to its International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards agreement. Although the United States is a nuclear-weapon state under the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) and is not required to adopt IAEA safeguards, it has done so as a confidence-building measure. Washington has also pressed for the universal application of the 1997 Model Additional Protocol in order to better detect and deter illicit nuclear activities.
The additional protocol provides the IAEA with greater authority to monitor all nuclear activities within a state. Such expanded authority includes the ability to carry out short-notice inspections and the use of environmental sampling.
The ratification takes place more than four years after the Senate provided its advice and consent to ratify the measure in March 2004. In consenting to ratification, the Senate stipulated that the president certify that appropriate managed access procedures for international inspections are in force in order to prevent the compromise of information of "direct national security significance." This condition required a number of U.S. agencies, including the Departments of Commerce, Defense, Energy, Justice, and State, as well as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, to adopt a variety of procedures and regulations to implement the protocol. (See ACT, March 2008.) The Senate adopted legislation required to carry out this implementation in November 2006, leaving the remaining work to the U.S. agencies.