50 Years of Terrorism against the Nuclear Industry: A Review of 91 Incidents in the Global Terrorism Database

BACKGROUND: The on-going Russo-Ukrainian war has resulted in a renewed global interest in the safety and security of nuclear installations and the possibility of nuclear disasters caused by warfare and terrorism. The objective of this study was to identify and characterize all documented terrorist attacks against nuclear transport, nuclear facilities, and nuclear scientists as reported to the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) over a 50-year period. METHODS: The GTD was searched for all terrorist attacks against nuclear facilities, nuclear scientists, nuclear transport, and other nuclear industry-related targets in the period from 1970-2020. Analyses were performed on temporal factors, location, target type, attack and weapon type, perpetrator type, number of casualties, and property value loss. RESULTS: Ninety-one incidents that occurred from 1970 through 2020 were included. Incidents took place in 25 countries and nine world regions, with most (42; 46.1%) occurring in Western Europe. During these 50 years, 91 incidents resulted in 19 fatalities and 117 injuries. One perpetrator was killed during an incident and one other assailant was injured. Bombings and explosions were the most frequently identified attack type (n = 40; 44.0%), followed by facility/infrastructure damage (n = 24; 26.4%) and armed assaults and assassinations (both n = 7; 7.7%). Nuclear power plants and reactors under construction were targeted in 13 (14.3%) and eight (8.8%) incidents, respectively. Most of the attacks took place on other nuclear industry-related sites. CONCLUSION: Terrorist attacks carried out by non-state perpetrators against nuclear facilities, nuclear scientists, nuclear transport, and other nuclear industry-related targets are rare, with only 91 incidents in a 50-year period. None of the attacks resulted in radioactive fallout or environmental contamination. Most of the attacks took place outside a nuclear power plant.