On-site inspections on the test stand in Kazakhstan

Transcription

1 CTBTO video shot sheet on-site inspections On-site inspections on the test stand in Kazakhstan Total running time: 8m44s 4 September 2009 Story line Footage and additional background information Time and duration Suspicious seismic tremors in Arcania You will not find Arcania on any map. The country existed for just a few weeks in September It was invented to test a sophisticated watch dog system that looks for secretly conducted nuclear explosions anywhere on the planet. Scientists at an organization in Vienna overseeing the implementation of a Treaty banning any nuclear explosions on Earth, registered suspicious looking seismic shocks in Arcania. A team of inspectors was tasked to establish whether or not the country had set off a nuclear device. The Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) developed this scenario to test its on-site inspection system. On-site inspections are the last step to find out whether or not in a suspicious case a nuclear explosion was indeed carried out. Arrival of inspection team at Almaty airport, Kazakhstan. Travel by train to Semipalatinsk (24 hours), landscape, exercise participants on the train. Arrival at Semipalatinsk train station. Footage of Vienna International Centre. 00:01-00:13 00:13-00:42 00:42-00:46 Total: 46s Realistic setting at former nuclear test site 200 experts, diplomats and support staff came from all corners of the world to the former Soviet Union nuclear test site at Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan. The setting gave the simulated inspection an acute sense of realism. It was the biggest ever exercise conducted by the CTBTO. Preparations lasted over Aerial view of craters and boreholes, testimony of over 450 nuclear tests that were conducted in this area between 1949 and Arrival at camp, build-up of camp. 1 00:48-01:05 01:06-01:24

2 two years. More than 50 tonnes of equipment were moved to the exercise area. Fork lift, checking equipment, boxes with equipment. 01:25-01:40 Total: 52s Demonstrating readiness Wang Jun is a diplomat from China and works for the CTBTO in Vienna. In that simulation inspection he led the team of 40 inspectors. For him, the purpose of the exercise was to demonstrate one thing: How ready the organization is after ten years of development, particularly in the field of on-site inspection. Wang Jun in discusssion with inspectors, interview. 01:42-02:06 Total: 24s Complex and challenging task An on-site inspection is a very complex undertaking with many technical and logistical challenges. In Kazakhstan, exercise participants found themselves at a remote location in the steppe, hours away from the next town. They had to be entirely self-reliant. Unseasonably low temperatures added to the challenging conditions. Playing the part Exercise participants had to play their parts in the simulation. They assumed the roles of inspectors and representatives of the inspected State. This further increased the sense of realism during the exercise. It also required participants to be flexible and imaginative and to hone their negotiation skills. UK expert John Walker represented Arcania: You learn much more by playing in role rather than just doing what we call tabletops or walk-through talk-through activities. You get much more out of it when The exercise s base of operations. Erecting tents and pre-fabs. They will house the offices of the inspectors and the radionuclide field laboratory. Installation of satellite dish. Independent and constant communication is needed between the base camp in Kazakhstan and the organization s headquarters in Vienna. Challenging weather conditions: snow and rain. Equipment checking, outside at boxes. Meeting of inspectors in tent. John Walker in meeting. 2 02:08-02:19 02:20-02:45 02:46-03:02 Total: 56s 03:04-03:09 03:10-03:18 03:19-03:25

3 people absorb the roles they play whether it d be inspectors, escorts or inspected State party representatives. Interview with John Walker. 03:26-03:38 Total: 34s Narrowing down the search area As in a real inspection, the simulated inspection proceeded in two phases, each with a distinct set of inspection techniques. In the first phase, they helped to narrow down the search area which measured 1000 square kilometres. Techniques included the visual scanning of the area for obvious anomalies. [Bernd Ludwig, verification expert from Germany, visual observation sub-team leader] We have of course specific instruments we use for the visual observation and I want to start with our main instrument that s a very human instrument which is our eyes and, of course, our training on all those especially natural phenomena we have to look for. Other teams were listening to small but revealing seismic aftershock tremors. They set up seismic mini-stations all over the area. [Peter Labak, seismologist at CTBTO, seismic sub-team leader] Now we are densifying part of the network by three 3-component stations around the so-called no access-zone. The reason is we want to make sure what is going on in this zone because we have no visual and no physical access to this zone. During this first phase inspectors also looked for elevated levels of radioactivity substances. Surveys were conducted from the air aboard a helicopter or on the ground while driving across the terrain. In areas with elevated radiation levels, inspectors gathered of different samples of soil, vegetation, air or water for later analysis in the field laboratory. For the first time gas samples were taken from the ground to search for traces of the noble gas Argon. [Matjaž Prah, radionuclide expert from Croatia, radionuclide sub-team leader] We can say that it is something like smoking gun for a nuclear explosion or some Visual observation from the air and on the ground helps to identify visible anomalies in the landscape that could have been created by a nuclear explosion. Visual observation from the air. Visual observation on the ground. Interview with Bernd Ludwig. Seismic aftershock monitoring: seismic mini-stations are installed to detect small seismic aftershocks that are caused by resettling geological structures underground. Interview with Peter Labak. Inspectors monitor the area for elevated levels of radioactivity and collect environmental samples. Examination of environmental samples in field laboratory. Pumping air from the ground to be analysed for the noble gas Argon. Interview with Matjaž Prah. 3 03:40-03:58 03:58-04:06 04:06-04:26 04:27-04:36 04:37-04:54 04:55-05:16 05:17-05:34 05:35-05:49 05:50-05:58

4 large event that produces a large number of neutrons. Daily meetings The teams around Wang and Walker met every evening to discuss the findings of the day. They also planned the activities for the next day. Meeting between inspection team and inspected State Party. Wang Jun and John Walker survey photos taken during visual observation. The inspected State party has the right to view all photographic evidence. They can bar the use of certain material as evidence if they are deemed to infringe the State s national security interests. Total: 2m18s 06:00-06:27 06:28-06:48 Total: 48s More intrusive inspection techniques The inspection techniques used in the first phase helped to identify smaller areas of specific interest. There, inspectors continued their quest with geophysical methods. These techniques included the measuring of the Earth s magnetic field, the use of ground penetrating radar and the measuring of the electrical conductivity of the ground. All these methods help to identify objects buried in the ground or other disturbances stemming from a nuclear explosion. The magnetic field of the Earth is measured for deviations. Measurements are first carried out from the air using a socalled magbird and later on the ground with a magnetometer. Ground-penetrating radar helps identify objects buried in the ground that may have been part of a set-up for a nuclear explosion. 06:50-07:03 07:04-07:20 Total: 30s Reporting the findings The simulation ended after the inspection team put together a report with their findings. Arcania s representative added his comments before the report was signed and sent to Vienna. Wang Jun and John Walker with their teams looking through the report and initialing the pages. 07:22-07:47 Total: 25s Exercise ends Wang s team had set out asking whether or not Arcania had carried out a nuclear explosion. All evidence suggested that it had not done so. The team later found Dismantling of tents and prefabs, cleaning of instruments, moving boxes and containers. 4 07:49-08:18

5 out that their findings matched the scenario which did not include a nuclear explosion. Arcania s claim that an earthquake had caused the suspicious data was confirmed. Total: 29s CTBTO on-site inspections work The State of Arcania was short-lived. But it helped to attest that the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty can be verified. The simulation helped the CTBTO to see where it stands in the preparation of methods, procedures and equipment for on-site inspections. The exercise also demonstrated that CTBTO was capable to launch an effective on-site inspection. On-site inspections are a powerful deterrent to any potential Treaty violator. As the ultimate verification measure they help to ensure that no nuclear explosion will go unnoticed. Departure shots. Inspectors in bus. Bus leaves. Inspection team. 08:20-08:29 08:30-08:44 Total: 24s 5