1. Nukes: Spreading fast

2. Atomic bomb primer

3. Lazy man's atomic bomb?

4. Nuclear hound dog

North Korea removed these safeguards from its nuclear facility when it renounced international inspections and resumed its bomb program. These seals were intended to prevent tampering with nuclear equipment. Photo: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

A mushroom cloud rises over Nagasaki on Ausust 9, 1945. This photo is signed by Maj. Charles Sweeney, the pilot of the B-29 bomber that dropped the bomb. Photo courtesy Manhattan Project Heritage Preservation Assoc. & Joseph Papalia.

operated a nuclear souk for decades. Nuclear scientist and national hero Abdul Qadeer Khan sold parts, smarts and designs for nuclear weapons to Iran, Libya, North Korea, and Andorra, for all we know. Khan has admitted selling secrets and been pardoned by President Pervez Musharraf, but has apparently not spilled all he knows about the delicate subject of whose nuke projects benefited from his little export project.

An undated file photo of the father of Pakistani nuclear program, Abdul Qadeer Khan. Intelligence agencies think he operated the world's most dangerous nuclear bomb proliferation program. AP Photo

operated a nuclear program during the 1980s and early 1990s, when it was shut down by a combination of international sanctions, military attacks, and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections. While the program didn't get anywhere near as close as the Bush Administration once claimed, it certainly demonstrated an intent to join the nuclear nations.

has apparently put together enough fuel to make a few atomic bombs (Seoul, capital of bitter enemy South Korea, the globe's 12th-largest economy, is just an artillery-shell's lob south of the border). North Korea withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in January, 2003. On-and-off consultations with the secretive, combative government continue, as do its efforts to reprocess reactor fuel, and presumably, bolt together more nuclear bombs.

opened its nuclear-weapons project to international inspection earlier this year., The New York Times reported that Libya had "crude" blueprints for a nuke, apparently bought from Khan's International Shoppe of Nuclear Gadgets and Gizmos (see "Libya's Crude..." in the bibliography). While experts were relieved about the unsophisticated design, even an el-crudo weapon could ruin your whole day -- or your whole city. On March 10, Libya and the IAEA agreed to increase inspection of nuclear facilities in the oil-rich nation.

is tussling with IAEA inspectors and the Bush Administration over inspection of the country's substantial nuclear project. On March 10, inspectors said they'd found highly enriched uranium in equipment in Iran. The 90-percent-pure U-235 was ideal bomb fuel, although not enough was found to make a bomb (see "Alarm Raised..." in the bibliography). Pakistan was again a prime source of expertise and perhaps equipment.

True terror
The spread of atomic bombs to more nations has long been a cause of concern. (Ironically, even nations that have bombs don't want others to get them). But the deadly train bombings in Spain turned heads toward the possibility of nuclear terrorism. With Al Qaeda or its offshoots the likely culprit for the Madrid massacre, it doesn't take a nuclear wizard to wonder if a terror organization that can pull off complicated, multi-team operations in Madrid and the United States could smuggle a little nuclear weapon into a port city.

An attack on New York could kill hundreds of thousands, and cause a trillion dollars in damages, according to some estimates. All that from a bomb shrimpier than the one that destroyed Hiroshima.

Almost 60 years after the nuclear genie flew from the bottle, eight countries (Britain, France, China, India, Israel, Pakistan, Russia, and the United States) have nuclear weapons. Over the years, Iran, Iraq, South Africa, Libya, North Korea and many others have mounted programs -- with varying degrees of success.

The equation of proliferation carries obvious risks:

MORE COUNTRIES WITH MORE BOMBS = MORE NUCLEAR WARS

But there are also some slightly less obvious risks: Pakistan and India demonstrated that when one country seeks the bomb, enemies lust for it. Israel has the bomb, and Iran is working hard to get it. If Iran succeeds, will rivals Saudi Arabia, Iraq or Egypt build their own? Now that North Korea has one, will South Korea or Japan be next?

Look on the bright side for a moment: Need a job? The anti-proliferation outfits must be hiring. Certainly, their biz has never been better.

Step one: To fight the bomb's spread, you must know how to make the bomb.

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Terry Devitt, editor; Sarah Goforth, project assistant; S.V. Medaris, designer/illustrator; David Tenenbaum, feature writer; Amy Toburen, content development executive

©2004, University of Wisconsin, Board of Regents.