The Use of Innovative Approaches in the Search for and Regaining Control Over Orphan Radioactive Sources in the Republic of Moldova

The problem of finding and establishing control over orphan radioactive sources (materials) is very important, as it is one of the most effective measures to reduce the threat of obtaining such materials by criminal groups. At the same time, in the process of performing regulatory functions, the problems associated with radiation safety involving more common household products have been identified. These problems are manifested in the uncontrolled spread of various radioactive items or small-sized radioactive sources, for example, parts of special instruments such as smoke detectors, ice thickness sensors, detectors from measuring equipment, etc. Due to their specific properties, these devices can be detected and identified by analyzing open source information on the Internet, using primary data about the type of activity of an enterprise or an economic agent, identifying and conducting an online survey of employees who worked at these enterprises, or using keyword searches related to equipment containing radioactive sources and also the field of application of this equipment. As a part of a cooperation agreement between the National Agency for Regulation of Nuclear and Radiation Activity (NARNRA) of the Republic of Moldova and the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), NARNRA provided CNS with a list of 101 enterprises for such open source analysis. Based on these preliminary data, CNS collected background information on each enterprise and mapped their locations. CNS also used this list to identify former or current employees of these enterprises through publicly available social media. It then conducted a network analysis establishing a link between workers and employers to identify individuals who would have more connections to other employees.