Several reports have been presented at the Euroscience Open Forum 2008 taking place in Barcelona, Spain, that discuss what is being called nuclear forensics, or the science specializing on nuclear threat detection, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported.

Gabriele Tamborini from the European Commission Joint Research Center Institute for Transuranium Elements, who spoke at the Euroscience Open Forum, says the threat posed by nuclear terrorism has become a serious field of study.

"Nuclear forensics may provide information on the history, the intended use and possibly on the origin of nuclear material," Tamborini said in a statement.

"This scientific discipline is at the interface between physical science, prosecution, non-proliferation and counter-terrorism."

Tamborini says safeguards developed in the 1970s have been updated with newly advanced environmental sample analysis capabilities, among other technologies in the growing field of nuclear detection intelligence research.

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