On The DL

Achieving a Nuclear Weapons-Free World

by Andrew Thompson

Wed., Oct. 22, 5-7 p.m., free, registration required, Fournier Hall, Chestnut Hill College, 9601 Germantown Ave., 215-546-3030, projectfornuclearawareness.org

You could write a book on subjects the presidential candidates have not mentioned this campaign season, but the silence over the hair-trigger alert of thousands of nuclear weapons is especially deafening. According to Elisabeth Erickson of the Project for Nuclear Awareness (PNA), there are 2,500 nukes on 15-minute standby between the U.S. and Russia.

At a panel discussion presented by the PNA, Hans Blix (pictured), former director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency and current chairman of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission, will address the need to make nuclear disarmament a top priority. Former U.S. Ambassador Thomas Graham, who helped lead U.S. efforts in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, will join him, and the discussion will be broadcast to Mexico City and British Columbia, where international viewers can take part in a Q&A session.

"While the economy is at the top of the list, this is something that's an ongoing issue," says Erickson. The event is by far the biggest yet for the PNA, which was formed in 2006 as an interest group to educate the public about the hazards posed by nukes and the need for Washington to disarm.