NNSA hosts 11 NPT nations' delegates for Sandia, Los Alamos lab tours

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said last week that officials from 11 countries and one United Nations representative recently toured NNSA laboratories in connection with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

The 11 delegates, from nations aligned with the treaty, visited Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), where they learned about the science being applied to maintain a smaller stockpile of nuclear weapons in a non-explosive testing environment. They also learned about what the U.S. is doing to increase confidence in the safety, security and effectiveness of the country’s nuclear stockpile and its plans to reduce it.

The meeting was one of many U.S. transparency measures stemming from the 2010 NPT Review Conference Action Plan, which encourages NPT-aligned nations to be more open and build mutual trust.

The visit was led by Ambassador Adam Scheinman, U.S. special representative of the president for nuclear nonproliferation, and Don Cook, deputy administrator for defense programs.