Shutting down Dimona
Israel’s nuclear programme, arsenal and environmental threat
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12924182 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Mounzer Sleiman (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2010 |
| Volume | 3 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 437-479 |
| Publication date | 2010-10-27 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Contemporary Arab Affairs (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1755-0920 • E-ISSN: 1755-0912 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/17550912.2010.528203 |
| OpenAlex | W1971497817 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 14 |
Israel is considering constructing its ‘first’ officially declared nuclear power plant, raising fears over the potential development of its nuclear arsenal. While international efforts are increasingly focusing on nuclear non-proliferation, one of the world’s oldest nuclear reactors—Dimona—which by all indications is not only obsolete, but also structurally compromised—is still operating in Israel, posing enormous environmental and security threats to the entire Middle East. On the grounds that whatever reasons Israel may have had for acquiring a nuclear arsenal, implicit or explicit, these no longer hold, and given the environmental danger posed, this article argues that Israel should shut down Dimona as a first step toward establishing a nuclear-free region. The article highlights the different types of weapons in Israel’s current nuclear arsenal as well as the attendant hazards of pollution, radiation and wastes, in addition to serious questions about adequate failsafe measures. The case presented is informed by hitherto unpublished material from a series of telephone interviews and consultations with Dr Samuel Cohen, ‘father of the neutron bomb’, and Dr Frank Barnaby, nuclear physicist and weapons expert who debriefed Mordechai Vanunu. Finally, the article suggests certain measures Israel could take to gradually eliminate its arsenal and avoid a cataclysmic scenario evocative of Chernobyl, without detracting from its overall ‘security’ claim. This article reflects the views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Drs Cohen or Barnaby, who were both consulted strictly in a technical capacity, nor does it necessarily reflect the views of either the Centre for Arab Unity Studies (CAUS) or the publisher Routledge (Taylor & Francis, UK)
Arms control · Nuclear engineering · Nuclear power · Nuclear power plant · Nuclear weapon · Physics · Political science · Shut down · Engineering · History · Law · Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts · Nuclear and radioactivity studies · Nuclear Issues and Defense
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2025 (2) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |