March 26, 2012
Missing Presumed Dangerous – The World’s Missing Nuclear Materials
About 50 heads of state will attend the Nuclear Security Summit on Monday and Tuesday 26 and 27 March in Seoul, South Korea, drawing US president Barack Obama and Russian president Dmitry Medvedev as well as leaders from potential transit countries such as Moldova, Lebanon and some African states that smugglers may use to move illicit nuclear materials. Iran and North Korea, which are in violation of United Nations resolutions demanding a halt to their nuclear work, are among countries excluded from the summit because the conference organizers’ are seeking consensus.
March 26, 2012
Time to better secure radioactive materials
The International Atomic Energy Agency is aware of more than 2,000 confirmed cases of illicit trafficking and other unauthorized activities involving nuclear and other radioactive material in the past 18 years. In a sting operation in Moldova last year, police seized a quantity of highly enriched uranium — material that can be used in a nuclear weapon — from an individual who was trying to sell it.
Most cases of attempted trafficking do not involve nuclear materials but, rather, radioactive materials of the sort held in hospitals, factories and many other locations worldwide that are generally not as well protected as nuclear facilities.
March 20, 2012
Better policies needed to reduce radiation exposure in nuclear accidents
A new study says that offsite policies and plans should be put in place to reduce the exposure of the public to radiation in the event of a nuclear power plant accident
In a report released yesterday, researchers at the Center for Biosecurity of UPMC assess offsite policies and plans that can be put in place to reduce the exposure of the public to radiation in the event of a nuclear power plant accident.
Even amidst the devastation following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan last year that killed more than 20,000 people, it was the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant that led the country’s Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, to fear for “the very existence of the Japanese nation.”
March 19, 2012
GAO finds lax medical facilities radioactive material security
An ongoing review of medical facility security surrounding radioactive materials by the Government Accountability Office has turned up examples of vulnerabilities.
In prepared testimony (.pdf) presented March 14 to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee on oversight of government management, the federal workforce and the District of Columbia, the GAO notes that there exists no specific national standard for facility radiological source controls.
Rather, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission–which is responsible for regulating the security of radiological sources in U.S. medical facilities–issued in 2005 a broadly-written order directing facilities to increase security. NRC officials say the order is a general framework and it’s up to the facilities to determine specific measures, such as whether security cameras are necessary or what types of locks or alarms to use.
February 16th, 2012
Preparedness Study Receives Peer Recognition
A Bloomberg School study on emergency response behavior in hospitals recently received an evaluation from the Faculty of 1000, a recognition that places the work in the top two percent of published articles in biology and medicine.
The study, “Characterizing Hospital Workers’ Willingness to Respond to a Radiological Event,” was co-authored by Daniel Barnett, MD, MPH, Natalie Semon, MSEd, and Jonathan Links, PhD, of the Johns Hopkins Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Center in collaboration with lead author Ran Balicer of Ben-Gurion University in Israel.
Published in PLoS ONE on October 27, 2011, the study describes hospital workers’ willingness to respond to a radiological dispersal device (or “dirty bomb”) event. The authors suggest that a high proportion (39 percent) of hospital workers may choose not to respond to a dirty bomb event and that several attributes, including their willingness to work extra hours, are very strongly associated with this lack of willingness.
January 27, 2012
Risk prioritization for nuclear attack response lacking – HHS
State and local governments don’t manage their radiological and nuclear terrorist threat response plans according to risk prioritization, says the Health and Human Services Department inspector general.
For a report released Jan. 25, HHS auditors investigated whether cities at the core of the 40 largest U.S. metropolitan areas made a risk assessment regarding dirty bomb or nuclear attacks by terrorists.
The federal government, for its part, identified nuclear terrorist attacks as a pretty high priority, stating in the 2010 National Security Strategy that “there is no greater threat to the American people than weapons of mass destruction, particularly the danger posed by the pursuit of nuclear weapon.”
Rescue workers prepare to push a person through a decontamination tent during a 2005 radiological "dirty bomb" attack drill in California.
Past Emergencies Place U.S. “Dirty Bomb” Readiness in Doubt: Report
The United States has implemented numerous legislative and regulatory measures to lay the groundwork for responding to a potential radiological “dirty bomb” strike, but the nation’s response to other disasters places in doubt the effectiveness of such efforts, says a Congressional Research Service report published last month (see GSN, June 21).
“Governments have planned responses to hurricanes, yet the overall response to Hurricane Katrina was poor. The Deepwater Horizon disaster occurred despite the federal government’s National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan,” states the report, which refers to a 2010 study warning of the U.S. medical infrastructure’s inadequacy for coping with a radiological strike.
June 21, 2011
Dirty Bomb Lessons Seen in Japanese Nuclear Crisis
U.S. Navy personnel in March scrub for potential radioactive contaminants on an aircraft carrier supporting crisis response operations in Japan.
The military’s readiness for dire combat situations could benefit from Operation Tomodachi, the U.S. armed forces’ effort to help Japan following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that left more than 20,000 dead or missing and damaged a nuclear power plant (see related GSN story, today), Marine Corps personnel in the region said last week at an information session for Gen. James Amos, the head of the service. The ailing nuclear facility has hemorrhaged radioactive material into the environment on a level not seen since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
June 15, 2011
New Radiological Detection Technology Tested at Horse Race
Three developmental systems for detecting radiological weapons materials were tested on Saturday at the Belmont Stakes horse race in New York, the U.S. Homeland Security Department announced (see GSN, May 2).
The trial involved collaboration by the department’s Domestic Nuclear Detection Office and the police departments of Nassau and Suffolk counties. It was not carried out in connection with any identified danger to the event, according to a Homeland Security press release.
The test allowed the partners to “assess a new technology that could help protect the public at events at large venues from the threat of illicit radiological and nuclear weapons and materials,” the release states.
A radiological “dirty bomb” would use conventional explosives to disperse radioactive material across a wide area.
Authorities today employ hand-held or “backpack” systems to monitor for radioactive materials at large-scale events such as the Belmont Stakes. The technologies tested on Saturday would allow for scanning of wider areas.
The trial included two Stand-Off Radiation Detection Systems that could be placed on vehicles to find and distinguish radioactive materials at extended distances. Also tested was a Roadside Tracker that is intended to scan for radiation sources “in vehicles traveling at speed over multiple lanes of traffic,” Homeland Security said (U.S. Homeland Security Department release, June 14).
The National Institute of Justice's new ensemble standard meets the special needs of law enforcement officers.
Protecting Law Enforcement from Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Threats
Debra Stoe, Program Manager for the National Institute of Justice’s Body Armor and Standards and Testing
Here at the National Institute of Justice’s (NIJ) Office of Science and Technology, we are tasked with establishing and maintaining performance standards for law enforcement technologies. Recently, we developed a standard for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) protective ensembles used by law enforcement. This standard establishes a minimum level of protection for law enforcement when dealing with CBRN hazards. CBRN hazards are very serious, and include chemical warfare agents, toxic industrial chemicals, biological agents, and radiological and nuclear particulate hazards that may inflict bodily harm, incapacitation, or even death.
The new CBRN protective ensemble standard will be a tremendous boon to the law enforcement community, allowing them to more effectively perform their mission in CBRN environments.
March 22, 2011
U.S. Looks to Safeguard Medical Isotopes From Terrorists
The United States is spending millions of dollars to help hospitals reduce the potential for terrorists to acquire sufficient amounts of medical isotopes to build a radiological “dirty bomb,” Newsday reported on Monday (see GSN, Aug. 20, 2010).
The National Nuclear Security Administration is funding the effort as part of its initiative to assess and improve radioactive substance safeguards at almost 2,700 sites no later than 2020, according to NNSA Deputy Director Kenneth Sheely.
In excess of 120 of the sites covered by the program are in New York state, including 50 facilities in New York City. Thirty facilities have already been examined in the city, including 18 hospitals. Before the end of 2011, officials want to see safeguard studies completed for all New York City hospitals.
Seven Long Island facilities have undergone security assessments and $800,000 in safeguard improvements have been carried out on three buildings, NNSA officials said.
March 15, 2011
Study: U.S. Emergency Preparedness for Nuclear Event is Poor
by Katherine Hobson
What if the U.S. suffered some sort of nuclear emergency?
According to a newly published study, state health departments are “poorly prepared to respond adequately to a major radiation emergency incident,” including unintentional exposures in a hospital or on a major roadway as well as intentional exposures, as with a dirty bomb or nuclear detonation. The survey doesn’t, however, cover nuclear power plant preparedness, since states with those plants are required to have specific, detailed emergency response plans.
Results from the survey, which includes responses from 76% of state health departments, are published in the current issue of the journal Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, which has a section devoted to nuclear-preparedness issues. (The timing of its release is coincidental.)
The authors asked public-health departments about their preparedness to monitor the human health effects of any released radiation from these kind of incidents. Across the different methods of monitoring, between 70% and 84% of states reported having completed minimal to no planning. Some 82% of states reported no or minimal plans to collect biological or clinical samples to assess the impact of radiation exposure.
February 16, 2011
Chance of WMD attack on U.S. seen as 100 percent
by Ted Purlain
A source inside the Federal Bureau of Investigation recently revealed that the probability of the United States being hit by weapons of mass destruction is 100 percent.
Dr. Vahid Majidi, the FBI’s assistant director in charge of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate, told NewsMax.com that such an attack could be conducted by foreign terrorists, lone wolf terrorists or criminals.
Majidi said such an attack could be launched using chemical, biological or radiological weapons, not necessarily a nuclear device.
Every year, American intelligence receives reports of terrorists obtaining WMDs, and when U.S. forces invaded Afghanistan they found that al-Qaeda was working on what was described as a nascent WMD program involving chemical and biological weaponry, NewsMax.com reports.
February 15, 2011
White House Requests $27M For NYC Radiation Detection
The Obama administration is requesting $27 million in its fiscal 2012 budget for an antiterrorism program primarily aimed at protecting New York City from nuclear and radiological attacks, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, Feb. 23, 2010).
The Securing the Cities program installs radiation detectors in and around New York that would alert authorities to materials entering or exiting the city that could be used in a nuclear or radiological “dirty bomb” attack.
The Obama White House had twice attempted in previous budgets to eliminate federal support for the initiative. Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Washington has come to understand that supporting terrorism defense initiatives such as Securing the Cities is a federal duty (Associated Press/New York Post, Feb. 14).
February 11, 2011
‘A weapon of mass destruction was found in the U.S.’: Shock confession of Customs officer
By David Gardner
A port official has admitted that a ‘weapon of mass effect’ has been found by ‘partner agencies’ in the U.S., raising major questions over a possible government cover-up. The disturbing revelation came in an interview with San Diego’s assistant port director screened by a television channel in the city.
The Customs and Border Protection Department tried to dampen speculation over his remarks, but doubts remained over whether he had inadvertently revealed a dirty bomb plot to attack the U.S. mainland.
Concern over a secret WMD bust came after U.S. cables made public by the Wikileaks whistleblower website revealed terror groups were plotting a ‘nuclear 911.’ In the interview screened by San Diego’s 10News, Al Hallor, assistant San Diego port director, said ‘weapons of mass effect’ had been found, although he did not specify exactly where or what they were.
February 8, 2011
Disaster preparation: Advocates distributing radiation monitors to first responders
By Schuyler Kropf
Emergency preparedness advocates are in the tri-county area this week distributing postage stamp-size radiation monitors free of charge to first responders.
Representatives of the National Health Physics Society are meeting with local emergency managers and visiting police and fire stations in Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties to train and equip officials against the effects of nuclear terrorism.
The monitors were created by the U.S. Department of Defense in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks to prevent first responder casualties in the event of nuclear or radiological terrorism, including from a so-called “dirty bomb.”
February 8, 2011
Terrorism: Top US security expert downplays Al-Qaeda dirty bomb threat
Western fears expressed in leaked diplomatic documents that Al-Qaeda is actively trying to build a ‘radioactive’ dirty bomb are exaggerated, a leading American security expert told Adnkronos International (AKI).
“Al Qaeda has nuclear ambitions, not nuclear capabilities. Since the early 1990s, Osama Bin Laden has been trying to buy nuclear weapons or weapons-grade material, apparently thus far without success,” Brian Michael Jenkins told AKI.
Al-Qaeda is using the reports it is planning to produce a dirty bomb as “instruments of terror,” said Jenkins, who is a senior adviser to the president of US think-tank RAND Corporation and the author of the book ‘Will Terrorists Go Nuclear’.
Jenkins was commenting on a recent report in Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper based on documents passed to it by whistle-blowing website Wikileaks.
“I know of no evidence to indicate that Al-Qaeda has nuclear weapons,” he stated.
February 7, 2011
WikiLeaks Show Terrorists Working Toward a Weapon of Mass Destruction
From theTrumpet.com
A summary of the latest WikiLeaks revelations on nuclear terrorism By Richard Palmer
Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups are working to produce chemical, biological or radioactive weapons to attack the West, according to WikiLeaks diplomatic cables released by the Telegraph on February 1.
“Although there was a limited assessed capability for al Qaeda and other groups to acquire wmd [weapons of mass destruction], the intent was clearly present, and there were ongoing credible reports of attempts to recruit the needed expertise,” said one of the cables, a summary of North Atlantic Council meeting held on Jan. 28, 2009.
A Dirty Bomb
“A ‘dirty’ radiological ied program was assessed to be under active consideration by al Qaeda,” said the cable.
A dirty bomb is a conventional explosive device that spreads radioactive material as it explodes. This can cause lethal radiation sickness, and can contribute to cancer. However, a dirty bomb would be far more effective at spreading fear and panic than killing people.
Rescue workers push a person through a decontamination tent during a radiological "dirty bomb" simulation exercise. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images).
Al-Qaeda Close to Acquiring “Dirty Bomb,” Cables Say
The terrorist organization al-Qaeda is coming close to possessing unconventional weapons as it pursues atomic matter and draws in sympathetic scientists to construct radiological “dirty bombs,” the London Telegraph reported today (see GSN, Jan. 31).
According to leaked U.S. diplomatic cables provided by the transparency organization WikiLeaks, security leaders at a 2009 NATO conference informed member countries that al-Qaeda operatives were devising a scheme to plant “dirty radioactive IEDS” — improvised radioactive roadside explosive devices that would potentially target alliance forces in Afghanistan.
A radiological “dirty bomb” would use conventional explosives to disperse radioactive material across a large geographical area. The ensuing radioactive contamination could cause years of damage to the environment and public health. Though not nearly as lethal as a nuclear weapon, such makeshift weapons are considered a serious security threat.
More…
October 22, 2010
Preparing for Weapons of Mass Destruction Attack and Response
by Shannon Arledge
Threats against America and its citizens are real, and the need for ready responders is ever more critical. Response personnel must remain vigilant and skilled with the preparedness knowledge to protect the citizens and cities they serve.
FEMA’s Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP), located in Anniston, Ala., plays a leading role in preparing cities and local response forces to protect, prevent, deter and respond to acts of terrorism, major accidents involving hazardous or toxic materials, or events resulting in mass casualties.
“The emergency response community in the United States needs to avoid complacency and continue to prepare for a wide range of potential terrorist attacks that will likely include chemical, biological, radiological or explosive material,” said Rick Dickson, assistant director of training delivery for the CDP. “Training is a critical element of preparedness, and the center’s fully funded training opportunities for state, tribal and local emergency responders are designed to prepare individuals and teams for what may be reality.”
October 20, 2010
UNC-CH receives $6.6M contract for radiation-scrubbing drug
Researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill have been awarded a $6.6 million contract to complete development of a drug designed to remove radiation from the body.
A form of an acid known as DTPA, the drug would be administered orally to people affected by radiation from a nuclear accident or a so-called dirty bomb.
The contract is with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is part of the National Institutes of Health.
The UNC-CH team at the Eshelman School of Pharmacy has been working on the drug for five years. Dr. Michael Jay is leading the effort.
“It cannot be made into tablets, is not particularly stable, is difficult to chemically analyze and tastes awful,” Jay said.
End
Oct. 7, 2010
Senior Lawmaker Says U.S. Unprepared for “Dirty Bomb” Attack
by Martin Matishak
The United States does not have the tools needed to reclaim an area impacted by a terrorist attack involving a radiological “dirty bomb,” an influential lawmaker said here yesterday.
“Right now, I would suggest that the U.S. is underprepared for a dirty bomb attack,” Representative Jane Harman (D-Calif.) asserted during an event at the New American Foundation.
Most cities and states would rely too heavily on the federal government to conduct and fund recovery activities, including environmental cleanup, according to Harman, who chairs the House Homeland Security Intelligence Subcommittee.
While the Homeland Security Department has made strides in preparedness for an incident, including by fielding fixed and mobile radiation detectors around the country, the federal government has provided limited guidance for state and local emergency preparedness agencies to develop recovery plans, Harman said.
Decontamination during a joint training exercise at Camp Buehring, Kuwait.
Guard Bolsters Homeland Response Capabilities
By Air Force Tech. Sgt. John Orrell
The National Guard has added a homeland response force package to its current chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosive response capabilities, which will help to provide a more robust response to any homeland incident, a National Guard Bureau official said today.
“This will allow us to save lives and mitigate human suffering as rapidly as possible,” said Air Force Col. Tim Cathcart, chief of the National Guard Bureau’s joint training and education division.
The National Guard’s current CBRNE enhanced response force package mission has 17 teams of 186 people each throughout the country providing a quick-response capability for an incident involving weapons of mass destruction, Cathcart said. When activated, they initiate search and extraction from collapsed buildings, conduct victim decontamination, perform medical triage and transport victims to stabilization facilities, where doctors will treat victims before they are moved to a hospital or designated medical facility, he said.
September 30, 2010
Are First Responders Prepared for CBRNE Incidents?
By Sandy Smith
Results of a recent nationwide survey of emergency medical technicians (EMTs) reveal that most first responders feel underprepared and inadequately equipped for a disaster involving a chemical, biological or radiological agent.
The survey from Meridian Medical Technologies Inc. indicates that 72 percent of respondents are somewhat-to-very concerned that a terrorist attack with widespread impact will happen in the next 3 years, while only 42 percent reported that their department receives recurrent training in responding to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or explosive devices (CBRNE) and/or terrorism. Nearly half (49 percent) of all respondents think it is at least somewhat likely that a potential terrorist activity involving the release of a chemical nerve agent could happen in the next 3 years.
September 7, 2010
Menssana Research Inc. Receives a $4.2 Million BARDA Contract to Develop a Breathalyzer Test for Radiation Exposure
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) has awarded Menssana Research Inc. a contract for $4.2 million plus options, which could total $22.84 million, if exercised, to develop a breath test for radiation exposure.
A radiologic or nuclear event such as an accident involving radioactive materials or a “dirty bomb” explosion could injure a large number of people. Emergency responders would need to rapidly screen and identify those who have been exposed to radiation. This will require a new kind of screening test to measure radiation effects on the human body.
Menssana Research has developed a sensitive breathalyzer which can detect several hundred different chemical compounds in normal human breath. The breathalyzer is much more sensitive than those police use to measure blood alcohol concentrations, and is currently in studies to identify disease biomarkers in patients with lung cancer, breast cancer, and tuberculosis. A pilot study also identified biomarkers of radiation exposure in cancer patients receiving radiation therapy.
August 27, 2010
Bomb detectors in Leonia
By Maxim Almenas
An elderly Fort Lee resident was waiting for a bus in Leonia last week when a police vehicle driving past her suddenly stopped and turned around. Leonia Police Officer Chris Jones walked over to Mirta Martinez and started checking her bag and identification.
Martinez’s citizenship was not being questioned, as Martinez assumed – Jones was inquiring as to why his portable bomb detector, which is just slightly bigger than a smartphone, was picking up such a strong signal.
“I was so nervous. I had never been questioned by the police before,” said Martinez, adding that Jones was stern but professional.
After further inquiry, Martinez explained she had just had a nuclear stress test performed by her Englewood cardiologist, Dr. Samuel Suede. The test, which is commonly used on some heart patients, entails a small dose of radioactive solution, which is administered intravenously to track blood flow to the heart muscle to evaluate heart function.
August 24, 2010
NIH renews research for countering nuclear threats
By Katherine McIntire Peters
The National Institutes of Health has announced it will renew a major research effort to develop medical devices for diagnosing, preventing and treating victims of a radiological or nuclear terrorist attack.
The research will be conducted through the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases’ Centers for Countermeasures Against Radiation, known as the CMCR program. CMCR was established in 2006 to fund 130 pilot studies to develop methods and tools to measure radiation exposure and evaluate potential drugs to treat radiation injuries.
Under the renewed program, announced last Thursday, NIH expects to invest $105 million to support research at seven institutions from 2010 to 2015. One of those is at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., where researchers will devise methods for determining physical and chemical changes in teeth, hair and fingernails resulting from radiation exposure, which could be used to develop noninvasive diagnostic tools.
More…
August 24, 2010
Drill tests law enforcement’s ability to respond to a nuclear threat
By Jill R. Aitoro
The National Nuclear Security Administration is turning to technology to help train law enforcement officials on how to respond to terrorist threats involving hazardous materials.
During a tabletop exercise last week at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, NNSA showed state and local law enforcement officials PowerPoint presentations and videos that staged fictitious threat scenarios involving terrorists attempting to steal high-activity radiological and nuclear materials from laboratories at the university. Such materials could be used in radiological dispersal devices, which are more commonly known as dirty bombs. The law enforcement officials and faculty and staff from MIT walked through the steps they would take to respond to such an event. Forty participants took part in the exercise, while another 160 people observed.
August 24, 2010
NRC has strict safety controls in place for radioactive materials
(This is a letter to the editor at the Boston Globe from David McIntyre, the Public Affairs Officer at the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission in response the previous article about a drill at MIT – editor)
Your AUG. 20 article “US conducts antiterrorism drill at MIT; Theft of radioactive material is feared’’ (Metro) leaves the misimpression that dangerous radioactive materials at MIT and other facilities across the country are vulnerable to theft by terrorists and protected only by voluntary security measures. In fact, such materials are subject to enhanced federal and state regulatory security requirements, and public health and safety are protected at all times.
Aug. 20, 2010
Authorities Drill at MIT for “Dirty Bomb” Material Theft
Federal, state and local agencies yesterday responded to a simulated attempt by extremists to seize radioactive cobalt from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for use in a radiological “dirty bomb,” the Boston Globe reported (see GSN, Aug. 11).
The FBI and Energy Department coordinated the unpublicized exercise, which involved medical and fire personnel as well as state, city and campus police. The effort was part of the “Silent Thunder” series of drills, which focuses on responses by multiple levels of government to threats involving chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons.
Government sources refused to discuss difficulties that might have emerged in the drill, which addressed possible means of preventing would-be thieves from obtaining dirty-bomb ingredients as well as potential government responses to an attack involving radiological material or a different type of unconventional weapon.
“Exercises of this type are valuable tools for enhancing coordination among the various organizations involved in response management,” MIT Nuclear Reactor Laboratory head David Moncton said.
More…
August 14, 2010
Monitoring Small Vessels Still a Challenge for Coast Guard, Says GAO
By Stew Magnuson and Ashleigh Fugate
The Department of Homeland Security has spent billions of dollars on technology and databases to defend against the illicit transportation of nuclear or radiological material in shipping containers.
Former Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen stated in testimony before Congress that small vessels, however, pose a greater threat for nuclear smuggling than large container ships.
The Government Accountability Office has found that few resources are being devoted to the small vessel threat.
August 10, 2010 A U.S. nuclear forensics ground collection team screens a debris sample in a field exercise in Idaho.
Pentagon Acknowledges Nuclear Forensics Troubles
By Martin Matishak – Global Security Newswire
A key U.S. Defense Department official last week said he agreed with a newly released report’s conclusion that the country’s ability to determine the source of material used in an act of nuclear terrorism is degrading (see GSN, July 29).
“That report kind of hurts, quite frankly, but it’s a truthful report,” said Steve Henry, assistant to the defense secretary for nuclear matters, referring to the public summary of a classified National Research Council report on nuclear forensics. The study was requested by the Defense and Homeland Security departments and the National Nuclear Security Administration, which manages the laboratories that conduct forensic activities.
A panel of experts found U.S. nuclear forensic capabilities — a wide range of sciences and advanced technology to trace the origins of a sample of radioactive material — to be “fragile, under resourced and, in some respects, deteriorating.” It added: “Without strong leadership, careful planning and additional funds, these capabilities will decline.”
July 23, 2010
Homeland Security Still Failing on WMD Screening Plan, Lawmaker Says
The U.S. Homeland Security Department has for years failed to heed calls to develop a strategic plan for preventing nuclear or radiological materials from being smuggled into the country across one of its borders, a ranking Republican senator said this week (see GSN, July 1).
The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee met Wednesday to consider two DHS documents aimed at assessing and improving the agency’s security operations — the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review, issued in February, and the follow-up Bottom-Up Review released more recently.
“One of my frustrations with the department, and frankly, with … the Bottom-Up Review is that there are longstanding problems, problems that precede this administration that the department still is not tackling and solving,” committee ranking member Susan Collins (R-Maine) told Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Jane Holl Lute.
July 22, 2010
Drill prepares emergency personnel
By Heather Menzies – Bay City Tribune
The Matagorda County Emergency Operation Center (EOC) activated Tuesday morning, July 20, in response to a non-graded drill involving a radiological release at the South Texas Project.
Matagorda County Judge Nate McDonald, fulfilling his role as Matagorda County emergency management director, orchestrated the event from the emergency operations center located in the Matagorda County Sheriff’s Office.
A joint information center was set up at Bay City’s Best Western hotel to deliver regular press releases to the media.
Joe Enoch, STP emergency response supervisor, said in the event of an actual emergency, the EOC would consist of the command and control team, the liaison team, the functional team and the public information team.
The command and control team is made up of the county judge who is the Matagorda County Emergency Management director, the county emergency management coordinators, mayors from Bay City and Palacios, a county commissioner and the county sheriff.
July 22, 2010
Lawmakers Lambaste “Dirty Bomb” Security Funding Cuts
The Obama administration is planning a 50 percent funding reduction for efforts to secure U.S. radiological material sources amid the continued threat of a “dirty bomb” attack against the United States, two lawmakers said today in a Wall Street Journal commentary (see GSN, July 6).
The Energy Department’s semiautonomous nuclear agency quickly rejected the assertion regarding radiological defense spending.
The White House’s proposed cut for the next budget year would be the latest in a series of reductions, according to Representative Jane Harman (D-Calif.) and Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine). It would occur even as the administration seeks to double spending for security of “loose nukes,” they said (see GSN, April 14).
“This policy is penny wise and pound foolish. We cannot allow a dirty bomb to become America’s Achilles’ heel because we’ve lost sight of that threat,” argued the lawmakers, both of whom are members of their respective chambers’ homeland security committees.
July 12, 2010
Defense, Guard Establish 8 Homeland Response Force Units
By Jim Garamone – American Forces Press Service
Eight more homeland response force units will be established in fiscal 2012, Defense Department and National Guard Bureau officials said here today.
The units are regional forces that will cross state lines when needed. They are part of a restructuring of the nation’s chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosive consequence management enterprise.
Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Texas, Missouri, Utah and California each will host a homeland response force unit. On June 3, officials announced Ohio and Washington would receive units that will be operational in fiscal 2011.
One unit will be based in each of the 10 Federal Emergency Management Agency regions. The units are scheduled to have 570 Guardsmen, and each will have a medical team, a search and extraction team, a decontamination team and very robust command and control capabilities, officials said. The units are arranged in such a way that they will be able to drive to the site of an event within 12 hours.
July 8, 2010 David J. Brenner, far left, leads a team at Columbia University that is developing an apparatus to do rapid, widespread testing for radiation exposure. 
Columbia Scientists Prepare for a Threat: A Dirty Bomb
By Lisa Foderaro
During World War II, scientists from the Center for Radiological Research in Manhattan toiled on the Manhattan Project, working feverishly to develop an atomic bomb before Nazi Germany did.
Some 70 years later, physicists from the center, now part of Columbia University Medical Center, are once again racing against time. But their work today centers on containing the damage from a much smaller and less sophisticated weapon: the dirty bomb, a crude explosive rigged to spray radioactive material.
In a cramped room off Broadway on West 120th Street, in Columbia’s mechanical engineering department, sits a prototype of a large robotic apparatus that could, after a dirty bomb detonated, test tens of thousands of New Yorkers a day for radiation exposure using a simple finger prick. Currently, such tests must be done manually, with blood removed from the arm and the sample shipped to a laboratory.
July 2, 2010
NRC gives $100K to CBC to expand programs
PASCO — Columbia Basin College will expand its nuclear technology curriculum with the help of a $100,000 grant from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The money, paired with a match from CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co., will be used to develop radiological protection technology classes to educate students as health physics technicians.
“A $100,000 grant to start a program is a huge deal to us,” said CBC President Rich Cummins. State money favors existing programs and money for current programs has been cut.
The radiological protection technology program is the second program being planned in the college’s nuclear technology degree offering, which enrolled its first class of 45 students in fall 2009.
Cesium chloride sources are used in blood irradiation, bio-medical and industrial research, and calibration of instrumentation and dosimetry. They have received special attention because the cesium chloride powder is highly soluble and dispersible, presenting security concerns that the sources could be used by terrorists in a radiological dispersal device, or “dirty bomb.”
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public comment on a draft policy statement on the protection of cesium-137 chloride radiation sources that are widely used in medicine and industry, and will hold a public meeting to solicit stakeholders’ input.
June 26, 2010
Navy center to test area’s response to nuclear bomb
By Scott Hadly, Ventura County Star
The experts at the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Asymmetric Warfare get paid to think about the unthinkable.
Not just to contemplate it but to script it out in all its gory detail and then test the capabilities of the military, police and other emergency personnel to deal with it.
So like Hollywood script doctors with the power of the final edit, they’ve plotted out a doozy for the city of angels: terrorists slipping a 10-kiloton nuclear bomb into the Port of Los Angeles and pushing the button.
“This is going to be one of the largest (disaster exercises) Los Angeles County has done,” said Alan Jaeger, principal investigator for the Center for Asymmetric Warfare.
Icelandic experts discuss a ground-based air radiation sampler during a nuclear emergency response training workshop at Nellis AFB.
U.S. Lab Reveals Nuclear Response Capabilities
A laboratory at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada last month hosted visitors China, Russia and more than 20 other nations as part of a U.S. effort to establish a shared international capability for dealing with a nuclear or radiological incident, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, June 1).
“We have great concerns about terrorists acquiring a nuclear weapon or a dirty bomb,” said Vince McClelland, chief of the international emergency management and cooperation office at the National Nuclear Security Administration. “The intent is to work with as many countries as possible to ensure they have systems and programs in place so that if something happens we can assist each other.”
More… Demonstration of patient treatment for injuries with radioactive contamination during a nuclear incident response training exercise for foreign nationals. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)
June 8, 2010
At Nevada lab, US prepares response to nuke terror
By DESMOND BUTLER (AP)
NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nevada — In an unremarkable building a short drive from the Las Vegas strip, government analysts hover over computer monitors, watching waves of color sweep over a map of a city.
The city is Washington, D.C. The hues represent the fallout from an imagined nuclear bomb.
It is from here, in a laboratory on the edge of the vast Nevada desert, that U.S. officials would gather some of the first critical information that could affect the lives of millions in the aftermath of a nuclear terrorist attack in an American city.
Normally concealed from the world within the high fences of Nellis Air Force Base, the doors were opened last month to provide rare tours for officials from 26 countries. A reporter from The Associated Press was also invited along.
June 3, 2010
FBI and Savannah River National Laboratory Put Science to Work to Protect the Nation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Energy’s Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) today announced the opening of a major expansion of the FBI’s facilities for the forensic examination of radiological material and associated evidence. The FBI’s newly expanded Radiological Evidence Examination Facility (REEF), located at the Savannah River National Laboratory near Aiken, South Carolina, provides a major enhancement in the FBI’s ability to protect the nation from crimes involving radiological material and bring to justice those who would use these materials to harm the nation’s citizens.
The first phase of the REEF opened at SRNL in 2006, providing facilities and equipment where trained FBI personnel can safely perform forensic examination on radiologically contaminated evidence. The new facility expands that original suite to about six times its original size and provides the capabilities for many more kinds of forensic examination. The new radiological forensic laboratory takes advantage of the long-standing security, safety and radiological protection capabilities already in place at SRNL while allowing the FBI to focus on forensic examination, in consultation with SRNL experts.
June 2, 2010
FBI is sole Justice agency prepared for terror attack, report says
By Jeff Stein
The FBI appears to be ready for a chemical, biological or radiological terrorist attack, but the rest of the Justice Department “is not prepared,” according to a blistering audit released Tuesday.
The report by Glenn A. Fine, Justice’s inspector general, singled out the department’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for particular scorn, suggesting that the bureau was only dimly aware that it had been designated Justice’s “lead coordinator” in responding to an attack with weapons of mass destruction.
The rationale for giving ATF, and not the FBI, the lead role was not explained in the report.
Other Justice Department components did not escape the inspector general’s wrath.
Superfund Technical and Assessment Response Team member Adam Smith uses a detector to seach for radioactive material during a three-day multi-agency training drill in Burbank on Monday. (Roger Wilson/Leader)
Training for attacks on U.S.
Response teams investigate the threat of a fake bomb during practice drill.
By Veronica Rocha
LOS ANGELES — Local, state and federal law enforcement agents swarmed a Burbank home Monday in a training exercise aimed at finding a potential radiological device.
The drill started with the mock detonation of an improvised explosive device in Indianapolis, prompting an FBI investigation, the agency’s spokeswoman, Laura Eimiller, said.
FBI agents generated fictional investigative leads in Los Angeles and Burbank, she said, which led them to a Burbank home on the 300 block of West Lutge Avenue.
“The resident suspected his renters of having some involvement with radioactive material that might be located in his home,” she said.
May 11, 2010
Hospitals would struggle against CBRN response
by Ted Purlain
Studies have shown that hospital emergency and trauma facilities, which are already stressed, would struggle to treat victims in the event of a chemical, biological, radiological of nuclear attack.
Some hospital emergency departments in large cities are so swamped that ambulances must be re-routed, studies say, and many urban hospitals do not have adequate staff, equipment, beds or surge plans to deal with the wave of hundreds or thousands of patients a CBRN attack would bring.
There are numerous reasons for this situation, including a lack of funding for trauma and emergency care.
“Trauma care is one of the worst-compensated things hospitals can be involved in,” Arthur L. Kellermann, former chairman of emergency medicine at Emory University in Atlanta and now head of Rand Corp.’s public health and preparedness program, told the Wall Street Journal.
April 30, 2010
Virginia study offers insights into behavior during emergencies
Study finds most capitol region residents would stay where they are after dirty bomb attack
Most people in the National Capital Region would follow instructions to stay where they are after a radiological dispersion device, or “dirty bomb,” attack, according to a recent survey of more than 2,600 NCR residents. The survey also indicated that if an evacuation were ordered, most people would stay close to the region and not travel far.
Those findings, along with others from the survey, provide emergency and transportation officials with valuable information on public actions during emergencies. Results from the survey will help refine emergency response, traffic movement and evacuation plans.
“The survey provides in-depth information on how residents say they will respond if a regional disaster occurs. The survey data are beneficial to planners and government officials in the NCR as well as surrounding states as we look at potentially providing shelter, transportation and public information to people in need,” said Michael Cline, state coordinator for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.
April 29, 2010
Not breathing in dust key to surviving ‘dirty bombs’
By John Branton – Columbian staff writer
Let’s think like a terrorist for a moment.
We want to bring a city such as Vancouver to its knees, but we don’t have the know-how or materials to make an atomic bomb, which would be on our A-list, along with ghastly chemical and biological weapons.
What we do have, blanketed under a pile of old lead sheets once used to protect photographic film from airport X-ray machines, are some dangerous radioactive pellets and powder scrounged up on the black market after the fall of the Soviet Union.
It’s hidden at a co-conspirator’s home with a lot of dynamite.
That’s all it takes to make a “dirty bomb,” officials say.
April 26, 2010
Liberty RadEx drill to test national clean-up and recovery efforts after mock ‘dirty bomb’ attack
PHILADELPHIA. More than 700 personnel from federal, state and local agencies and the private sector are participating in a 5-day homeland security exercise that began today in Philadelphia. The exercise, called Liberty RadEx, is the largest drill of its kind sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to test the country’s capability to clean up and help communities recover from a dirty bomb terrorist attack. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and City of Philadelphia are co-sponsoring the drill.
Liberty RadEx portrays conditions at least 30 days after a radiological dispersion device was detonated in Independence National Park. The drill is unique in that it simulates the end of the emergency phase when response operations transition to new teams brought in to test areas for radiation contamination, determine cleanup plans, and help communities recover.
“Our first concern is that the public understands Liberty RadEx is a drill and the activities people might see at different locations are only simulations of what might happen in a real event,” said EPA Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin. “This exercise is significant because it will help inform how all levels of government, businesses and community organizations can work together to meet challenges associated with long-term cleanup and community recovery from a dirty bomb attack.”
April 20, 2010
Lasers Steam Cleaning of Dirty Bomb Radiation and Chemical Contamination Looks Very Promising
Idaho National Laboratory chemists are studying the potential of lasers to help clean up chemical and radiological contamination. The goal is to increase the nation’s ability to respond to “unconventional” terror attacks such as dirty bombs. Experiments are ongoing, but results thus far are very promising.
Laser technology can also scale up to perform large-scale decontamination jobs. Some cleanup and restoration firms, such as adapt laser system, are already using lasers to scrub soot off building facades. Further, these industrial operations often use automated lasers, demonstrating that laser work can be done remotely. This would minimize risks to remediation personnel responding to a terrorist attack. Fox stresses that laser decontamination is a tool in the proof-of-principle stage.
April 19, 2010
Former Four-Star General Warns of WMD Attack
Retired U.S. Army four-star Gen. Barry McCaffrey predicted last week that an nonstate organization would attack the United States with a radiological or biological weapon in the next 10 years (see GSN, April 16).
In a presentation given Friday to the Defense Department’s Joint Staff Senior Leaders’ class at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., McCaffrey addressed the WMD threat facing the country and offered recommendations to increase safeguards against that danger.
“The U.S. will be attacked by a nonstate actor employing radiological devices or biological agents in the coming decade,” according to McCaffrey, a national security analyst and international affairs professor at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
“There is a small probability (5 percent) of employment of a low-yield nuclear device against an American city in the coming 50 years,” McCaffrey stated, adding that he saw a 20 percent chance that some nation would detonate a nuclear weapon in the next 50 years.
April 12, 2010
Beneath NYC, police protect tunnels from terror
By TOM HAYS (AP)
The tidy, three-story brownstone looks like any other on the cobblestone block in Brooklyn, but it isn’t. It’s a fake, leading directly to the belly of the nation’s largest subway system.
The unmarked emergency exit behind the facade is one of many posts protected by beat cops defending the city against bombings or other terror attacks in the city’s intricate underground mass transit network.
Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, officials at the nation’s largest police department insist the city remains the nation’s No. 1 terror target, devoting extra resources to protecting Wall Street, the Empire State Building, Brooklyn Bridge and other high-profile potential targets.
But perhaps the biggest worry — spurred by the recent bombing in Moscow and a foiled plot in New York — is the subway, a porous, 24-hour-a-day system with 468 stations and an average of 5 million riders a day.
April 6, 2010
Air Force Base Conducts “Dirty Bomb” Drill
Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota last month conducted a large-scale disaster response drill in which an attacker shot several people and then set off a radiological “dirty bomb,” the UAir Force announced yesterday (see GSN, April 2).
The exercise involved base security personnel, along with roughly 50 organizers and assessors from the FBI, emergency management agencies and other entities and a similar number of volunteers.
In the drill, an armed person invaded the base’s McAdoo Sports and Fitness Center on March 26, shooting several people and releasing radioactive material through the use of conventional explosives. Security teams hunted the shooter, extricated bystanders and secured the building, after which emergency personnel aided the wounded.
A ship arrives last year at Belgium's Port of Antwerp, one site that scans cargo containers for radiation under the U.S. Megaports Initiative. Congressional investigators are expected to review the program (Drik Waem/Getty Images).
Review Set for Major U.S. Radiation Detection Program
By Stephanie Palla, Global Security Newswire
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Government Accountability Office plans to review the progress of a federal program that deploys technology at foreign seaports to detect nuclear or radiological weapons materials that could be used in an act of terrorism (see GSN, March 30).
The evaluation of the Megaports Initiative was requested in January by Representative Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee (see GSN, Jan. 15).
Towns called for congressional auditors to assess whether the program had addressed recommendations of a 2005 GAO report that asserted that “limited progress” had been made in fielding radiation sensors at high-threat seaports. Among the recommendations were a long-term plan identifying how many and which foreign ports would be equipped with portal detection systems and a better cost projection analysis for the program.
Staff Sgt. Chester Romine, Sgt. Joe Ramsey, Sgt. 1st Class Juan Gallego and Staff Sgt. Yvonne Lugo from the 7th Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team search for radiological sources in training at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico.
Missouri Guard’s 7th Civil Support Team learns tactics for radiological threat response
By: Matthew J. Wilson/Missouri National Guard Public Affairs
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — As one of four new members of the 7th Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team, Sgt. 1st Class Joe Mell had no experience dealing with radiological threats.
Mell and the rest of the Missouri National Guard unit from Fort Leonard Wood recently spent a week in the high desert learning techniques on identifying and locating radiation sources, and the best way to deal with the hazard once it’s found.
“I have a 100 percent difference in the way I look at radiation versus what I did before I ever attended the course,” said Mell, the unit’s decontamination noncommissioned officer in charge. “I learned about the different pieces of equipment there are to detect radiation and how to use them.”
The schoolhouse for the training was the Defense Nuclear Weapons School at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency on Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, N.M.
March 1, 2010
GAO Recommends Actions for Better Prevention of Radiological or Nuclear Attacks
A terrorist’s use of a radiological dispersal device (RDD) or improvised nuclear device (IND) to release radioactive materials into the environment could have devastating consequences. GAO was asked to examine (1) the extent to which the federal government is planning to fulfill its responsibilities to help cities and their states clean up contaminated areas from RDD and IND incidents, (2) what is known about the federal government’s capability to effectively clean up these contaminated areas, and (3) suggestions for improving federal preparedness to help cities and states recover from these incidents. The report also discusses recovery activities in the United Kingdom. GAO reviewed federal laws and guidance; interviewed officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Energy (DOE), and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); and surveyed emergency management officials from 13 cities at high risk of attack, their 10 states, and FEMA and EPA regional offices.
More …
March 1, 2010
Dirty Bomb Recovery Plans Lacking
by Mickey McCarter
GAO calls on FEMA to produce national recovery plan
US cities recently surveyed by congressional investigators would require the assistance of the federal government to clean up after a dirty bomb attack, but they were confused as to which federal agencies from which to seek help in such a recovery.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which has responsibility for developing national recovery plans, should produce one for improvised nuclear devices (IND) or radiological dispersal devices (RDD) to designate clear lines of responsibility for cleaning up after a terrorist attack using a radiological device, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a Feb. 26 report.
February 27, 2010
Using Tooth Enamel to Gage Radiation Exposure
Teeth carry a record of our past experiences
by Tudor Vieru, Science Editor
According to investigators, human teeth are extremely sensitive to recording information about past experiences we may have encountered, in the sense that they store data on the environmental pollution and radiation levels we came across at some point in our lives. Knowing this, a group of researchers is currently working on developing an advanced method of deriving these dataset from our teeth, in manner that could yield results which are usable in practical applications. They say that this line of study also has tremendous implications for national security.
Team members from the new initiative say that enamel – the hard layer covering the outside of our teeth – can store radiation readings with great accuracy. They add that devising a way of understanding them could provide emergency responders with methods of determining precisely how much radiation a certain individual was exposed to, for example in the case of a dirty bomb explosion. “Dental enamel is quite a remarkable material. There’s a world of information in the tooth,” Howard University in Washington College of Dentistry professor Barry Pass says, quoted by LiveScience.
February 11, 2010
Al Qaeda Intent on Using Nuclear Bomb
by Anthony L. Kimery, HSToday
Yet, despite the IC understanding this, catastrophic attack preparedness is lacking
On the heels of the US Intelligence Community (IC), Congress’ WMD Commission, assessments by former IC WMD counterterrorists [see the January Homeland Security Today report, The WMD Connection], and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton having all said that they consider weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the hands of terrorists to be the most serious threat faced by the US (even more serious than the threat posed by a nuclear-armed Iran), Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed today that Iran has successfully produced highly enriched uranium (HEU). HEU that could be used in atomic warheads.
This is HEU that, given Iran’s notorious bonds to terrorism, possibly could find its way into the hands of terrorists, including the Iranian created and controlled Hezbollah, which both the IC and Defense Department fear would be unleashed against the West in the event of either a US or Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
February 3, 2010
Post exercise tests readiness
Civilian departments also called in
By Mike Riddle
First responders tend to a staged emergency scene during an exercise last week on Fort Stewart. Photo by Mike Riddle.
Fort Stewart (Georgia) conducted exercise “2009 Stewart Guardian” last Wednesday and, according to public affairs spokesman Kevin Larson, the operation went well.
“Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield conducted this exercise to validate our preparedness for emergency responders,” Larson said.
The exercise was to give base officials a barometer of where the installation stood regarding its readiness to deal with a major emergency, such as a domestic terrorist attack.
Dina McKain, who also works in the public affairs office, said this year’s scenario had a deranged former soldier hijacking a small aircraft and forcing the pilot to land it at Fort Stewart. The fictitious assailant then killed the pilot, exited the plane while firing a machine gun and detonated a “dirty bomb.” With the explosion and gunfire, several soldiers were “killed” and more injured. After the initial attack, the plot had the man escape, but he later was detained by law enforcement.
Members of the Metro Transit Police's anti-terrorism unit inspect the Arlington Cemetery Station last month. Earlier that day, they staged inspections of passenger-filled trains. (Gerald Martineau For The Washington Post)
Metro plans terrorism drills on train, bus systems
By Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Scores of Metro Transit Police officers with dogs and bomb technicians will swarm one of the system’s busiest stations during the morning rush Tuesday in a show of force against a potential terrorist attack, part of a broader effort to bolster security in the rail system.
About 50 officers, including Metro’s anti-terrorism unit, criminal investigators, special response teams and other squads, will move into the station about 7:30 to demonstrate heightened vigilance, Metro officials said. The transit agency won’t release the name of the station until early Tuesday and asked the media to refrain from disclosing it until after the exercise begins.
“There is no immediate or credible threat” to the Metro system, spokeswoman Cathy Asato said. “We want to stay a step ahead.”
February 1, 2010
Obama officials present a strategic redefining of Homeland Security’s mission
By Spencer S. Hsu
Washington Post Staff Writer
The Obama administration Monday delivered to Congress the nation’s first Quadrennial Homeland Security Review, defining homeland security for the first time as including hazards beyond terrorism, in a strategic document intended to drive long-term budget decisions.
Congress mandated the high-level strategic review in 2007, two years after Hurricane Katrina exposed failings in the government’s response and four years after the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. The initiative was modeled after the Quadrennial Defense Review, another congressionally mandated effort that directed the Defense Department to reset its strategies and budgets against evolving threats every four years.
Analysts said that production of the 88-page document marked a successful milestone for DHS, even though it is not as thorough as the Pentagon’s version and will not be as influential.
February 1, 2010
Pentagon to Augment Anti-WMD Capabilities
A U.S. Army Technical Escort Unit member wears a hazardous-materials suit during a 2002 demonstration of the unit's chemical and biological incident response capabilities. The Pentagon indicated in a report today that it would pursue additional anti-WMD activities (Paul Richards/Getty Images).
The U.S. Defense Department said today in the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review that it intends to enhance its capabilities to prevent the spread and use of weapons of mass destruction (see GSN, Feb. 6, 2006).
“The proliferation of nuclear, chemical, biological and radiological capabilities among state and nonstate actors can threaten our ability to defend U.S. and allied interests, promote peace and security, ensure regional stability and protect our citizens,” states the report, which addresses Pentagon priorities and planning over the next four years. “Further, the use of a nuclear weapon or a biological attack would have global ramifications. Preventing the proliferation and use of such weapons is therefore a top national priority.”
More…
January 14, 2010
Potential “Dirty Bomb” Material Collected Near NYC
Two medical research devices containing cesium 137 have been recovered roughly 25 miles from New York City, the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration said today (see GSN, Aug. 7, 2009).
“Properly disposing of more than 3,000 curies of cesium eliminates the threat this material poses if lost or stolen and used in a dirty bomb,” NNSA Administrator Thomas D’Agostino said in a press release. “This recovery is part of NNSA’s comprehensive strategy to keep dangerous nuclear and radiological material safe and secure and protect the American people by further enhancing our nation’s nuclear security.”
December 22, 2009
Administration to Tackle Nuclear Terrorism
by Anthony L. Kimery
‘A recognition of the very real threat that terrorists are still trying to acquire nuclear weapons’
Thwarting nuclear terrorism in all forms – improvised nuclear bombs and radiological dispersal weapons, purloined warheads, and bombs and bomb-making material surreptitiously supplied by a rogue nuclear state – reportedly will be the fundamental focus of the Obama administration’s 2010 Nuclear Posture Review, due to be released in February.
According to the New York Times, more resources will be devoted to detecting and countering nuclear-related terrorism to a variety of surveillance platforms, HUMINT and covert intelligence and interdiction activities.
December 21, 2009
$41M ASU project targets nuclear disasters
Arizona State University will lead a $41 million research project to develop systems to help first responders assess radiation exposure in the event of a large-scale nuclear disaster.
The five-year contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority will focus on the development of prototypes to enable more rapid triage of patients.
December 14, 2009
Preparing for a ‘nuclear event’
Roobina Badalian looks into a dirt floor area of the basement at the Glendale Courthouse where disaster supplies have been found. The basement was intended to be used as a bomb shelter, but now houses records and files. Glendale, CA 12-10-2009. Photo by John McCoy/staff photographer (John McCoy)
By Troy Anderson, LA Daily News Staff Writer
Local officials taking inventory of bomb and fallout shelters
While the possibility of a nuclear attack in Los Angeles seems almost unthinkable, local officials are inventorying hundreds of old bomb and fallout shelters as part of their preparations for a “radiological or nuclear event.”
Los Angeles and other metropolitan areas are drafting emergency plans while federal agencies study how to prepare the public for what county public health Director Jonathan Fielding describes as a “low-likelihood, huge-consequences event.”
December 14, 2009
CIA Briefs Law Enforcement on Possible WMD Attacks
By Jim Kouri, Vice President, National Association of Chiefs of Police
The Central Intelligence Agency released declassified reports to the National Association of Chiefs of Police regarding CBRN threats to the United States. The following is a synopsis of the information contained in these disturbing reports.
Al-Qaeda and associated extremist groups have a wide variety of potential agents and delivery means to choose from for chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN) attacks. Al-Qaeda’s end goal is the use of CBRN to cause mass casualties; however, most attacks by the group — and especially by associated extremists — probably will be small scale, incorporating relatively crude delivery means and easily produced or obtained chemicals, toxins, or radiological substances. The success of any al-Qaeda attack and the number of ensuing casualties would depend on many factors, including the technical expertise of those involved, but most scenarios could cause panic and disruption.
December 11, 2009
From scrubs … to bio gear
Kings Bay Branch Health Clinic’s Disaster Team gets intense week of training for Chemical, Biological and Radiological mass casualty incident
Biological warfare training was plan of the week as Sailors from Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay Branch Health clinic rallied for a four-day seminar the week of Nov. 16.
The Chemical, Biological and Radiological Material training was much different than the typical classroom environment and involved decontamination tents, patient evaluation, dressing in full personal protection gear and a final assessment. Two instructors from Battelle, a company that specializes in training military and civilian response units, spent the week teaching members of the clinic’s disaster team to prepare for and respond in of a mass casualty incident.
December 10, 2009
General Physics Corporations’ Domestic Preparedness Equipment Training Assistance Program (DPETAP) Achieves Major Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Training Milestone
DPETAP Provides Training to over 90,000 First Responders
ELKRIDGE, Md.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Global performance improvement solutions provider General Physics Corporation (GP), a subsidiary of GP Strategies Corporation (NYSE: GPX), announced today it has achieved a major milestone by providing Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) detection, protection and decontamination equipment training to over 90,000 first responders.
GP, in cooperation with the Pine Bluff Arsenal (PBA), operates DPETAP, a federal-funded program through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) – Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). DPETAP was established in 1999 in partnership with the FEMA National Preparedness Directorate and the United States Army’s Pine Bluff Arsenal, the Department of Defense’s center of expertise for chemical and biological defensive equipment production and support. DPETAP helps emergency responders nationwide better select, operate, and maintain their CBRN detection and response equipment. DPETAP currently offers more than 53 courses and exercises that range from 1 hour to 24 hours in length, and has provided mobile on-site training in 45 states and two U.S. Territories.
December 7, 2009
Semi carrying medical waste rolls near Las Vegas
The Associated Press
INDIAN SPRINGS, Nev. — Officials say a semitrailer carrying medical waste has rolled over on a highway about 60 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
Clark County Fire Department spokesman Scott Allison says early reports that the tractor-trailer was carrying some sort of radiological product are incorrect and nothing toxic was on board.
November 16, 2009
Feds ride rails to stop bombers in their tracks
By MURRAY WEISS Criminal Justice Editor
Federal officers equipped with nuclear- and biological-weapons detectors have begun to ride the nation’s rail system, including Amtrak, to prevent terrorists from hauling dirty bombs and other explosives to big-city targets, The Post has learned.
The Department of Homeland Security, working with the FBI, has been quietly rolling out handheld radiological devices to specially trained Transportation Security Administration agents who are randomly fanning out aboard trains and buses and at transit hubs.
“The nuclear, biological, chemical issue is now the most concerning and feared because of its mass-casualty possibilities,” said a top federal official familiar with the initiative.
November 6, 2009
Radiation Sensors Installed Along U.S.-Canadian Border
The United States has finished fielding new equipment at all border crossings with Canada to aid in the detection of potential nuclear- and radiological-weapon materials, the U.S. Homeland Security Department announced yesterday.
The radiation portal monitors are expected to scan all vehicles entering the United States for radiation sources that could include material in a nuclear device or a radiological “dirty bomb.” When the sensors pick up radiation strong enough to indicate a potential hazard, border personnel are expected to investigate the source of the reading in accordance with official procedure.
The installations were completed two months ahead of schedule by the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, according to a press release.
Oct. 5, 2009
Uranium Pellets Missing in South Carolina
Federal investigators believe that someone intentionally relocated radioactive uranium fuel pellets in violation of proper inventory procedures at a nuclear fuel facility in South Carolina, the State newspaper reported Friday (see GSN, Aug. 7).
The 25 pounds of pellets, composed of low-enriched uranium, are believed to have been recycled inside of the Westinghouse fuel plant and never taken outside the site. A Nuclear Regulatory Commission official said it is unlikely that the material would be used in a radiological “dirty bomb.”
More…
September 29, 2009
Oswego County (NY) conducts ‘successful’ federal exercise of nuclear plan
A federally-evaluated exercise of Oswego County’s Radiological Emergency Preparedness Program “was very successful,” said Rebecca Thomson of Federal Emergency Management Agency Region II‘s Radiological Emergency Preparedness Program. Thomson announced the preliminary findings of the evaluation during a public meeting Sept. 25 at the Oswego County Joint Information Center.
A team of 23 observers evaluated Oswego County’s and New York State’s operations during a Sept. 22 exercise of a simulated emergency at Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station Unit 1, a division of Constellation Energy. The exercise involved hundreds of participants from the county and state governments, Constellation, and other partners.
September 28, 2009
NNSA Emergency Operations Teams Enhance Radiological Security for Pittsburgh G-20 Summit
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) deployed emergency operations personnel to support the United States Secret Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation with nuclear and radiological security for the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh. As the nation’s premier responder to nuclear or radiological incidents within the United States or abroad, NNSA works collaboratively with federal, state and local agencies to enhance security for major national security events.
September 25, 2009
Radiation Sensor Exercise Conducted on Puget Sound
Over 300 law enforcement officials and emergency response personnel practiced scanning small boats for radiological materials on Puget Sound in Washington state this week, the U.S. Coast Guard announced (see GSN, July 27).
The exercise, which involved portable radiation scanners as well as boats outfitted with sophisticated detection gear, was conducted under a pilot program organized by the U.S. Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, a branch of the Homeland Security Department. Other participants in the drill included the Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
September 16, 2009
Radiation Education: 8th Civil Support Team Schools Local Firefighters on Importance of Detection, Response
Joint Force Headquarters – Colorado National Guard Public Affairs RSS
Story by Staff Sgt. Aaron Rognstad
AURORA, Colo. – Amidst a cacophony of beeps and chirps given off by sensory equipment associated with detecting a radiological agent, Aurora firefighters were taught radiological response techniques by the Colorado National Guard 8th Civil Support Team and the United States Department of Energy.
Training took place at Aurora Fire Department Station 2 over the course of three days. The 8th CST and DOE trained on the wear of appropriate personal protection equipment, the proper use of sensory instruments in response to an incident and how to effectively respond to a potential situation in regards to the release of a radiological agent.
September 16, 2009
NNSA Official Testifies Before House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emerging Radiological Threats
NNSA Official Testifies Before House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emerging Radiological Threats
Source: National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Kenneth Sheely, Associate Assistant Deputy Administrator for Global Threat Reduction at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) today testified before the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emerging Threats during a field hearing in Brooklyn, NY. Sheely highlighted the role that NNSA’s Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI) plays in further improving the security on high-risk radioactive sources.
NNSA’s “GTRI works very closely with its federal partners, each of which has a unique role ensuring a comprehensive system of oversight, prevention, and protection of civilian radiological sources,” said Sheely.
September 15, 2009
FEMA Guidance on Recovery After Radiological Event Insufficient, GAO Reports
By Matthew Harwood
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has not developed a comprehensive recovery strategy to help cities and states across the United States recover from a dirty bomb or improvised nuclear device (IND) attack, a representative from Congress’ investigative arm told legislators yesterday.
“Despite the anticipated reliance by city and state governments on the federal government for analysis and cleanup activities following an RDD [radiological dispersal device] or IND incident, FEMA has not developed a national disaster recovery strategy or related plans to guide involvement of federal agencies in these recovery activities, as directed by federal law and executive guidance,” Gene Aloise, director of natural resources and environment for the Government Accountability Office (GAO) testified.
August 28, 2009
Shot at nuclear fuel truck troubles watchdog group
By TOM FOWLER Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
Shotgun damage to a truck carrying uranium fuel rods to a Texas nuclear power plant last year posed little, if any, immediate radiation danger, but it highlights potential problems the industry could face, a nuclear power industry watchdog says.
The shotgun damage was discovered on the driver’s side of the truck on the morning of Sept. 20, as it delivered eight uranium fuel rods to the South Texas Project nuclear power plant near Bay City, according to a safety report filed at the plant last year.
The driver of the truck, operated by the Utah firm EnergySolutions, said he heard what sounded like a tire blowout several hours earlier while driving through another state. He stopped the truck to check but didn’t see the door damage.
August 25, 2009
New Mexico Police Receive Radiation Detection Training
The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration conducted a three-day session last week aimed at training police in New Mexico to more effectively spot potential radiological-weapon ingredients at state border crossings (see GSN, March 26, 2008).
Agency officials and New Mexico Motor Transportation Police officers used radiation scanners and other equipment to examine the contents of vehicles that had raised alarms when passing through a border crossing at Anthony, N.M.
“Because of our expertise in handling, securing and detecting nuclear material … NNSA is uniquely equipped to share our expertise with state and local officials,” NNSA Associate Administrator Joseph Krol said in a statement. “Working together, we improve our ability to detect radiological materials and make our nation a safer place to live. Cooperation like this is an example of the return our nation gets on its investment in nuclear security” (U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration release, Aug. 24).
August 24, 2009
FBI Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate Recent Accomplishments
The FBI’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate (WMDD) is reporting a number of recent accomplishments including several arrests, convictions, and indictments in cases involving a variety of chemical, biological, and radiological threats.
“We are unrelenting in our efforts to protect the American people from weapons of mass destruction. Whether it is a threatening letter filled with ‘powder’ to a investigating a major radiological incident, we remain committed to strengthening the FBI’s close working relationships with all of our partners to prevent, investigate, and resolve these incidents,” said Dr. Vahid Majidi, Assistant Director, Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate.
These recent cases highlight a number of actions to dismantle and disrupt these weapons of mass destruction-related threats.
August 22, 2009
Officials find uranium ore at port of entry
A box of uranium ore was discovered Friday at the Anthony port of entry, according to New Mexico State Police.
A Fed-Ex truck going through radiological screening set off an alarm and was found to be emanating high levels of gamma rays.
The uranium ore was found in an unmarked, 8-inch by 8-inch by 8-inch box mailed by an out-of-state firefighter who travels the country teaching how to detect radiological dirty bombs, according to state police, which did not release the firefighter’s name.
August 6, 2009
Research and Markets: Radiation Safety: Protection and Management for Homeland Security and Emergency Response
Research and Markets has announced the addition of John Wiley and Sons Ltd’s new report “Radiation Safety: Protection and Management for Homeland Security and Emergency Response” to their offering.
This book is meant to be a comprehensive safety book on radiation protection, with an emphasis on homeland security. Pertaining to homeland security, this book provides a detailed understanding of how to detect radioactive materials being smuggled into the country by monitoring critical points in the supply chain, from entry at a port to transfer of materials to rail or truck. The book details what to do if radioactive material is found, by clearly explaining the procedures laid out by FEMA in National Incident Management System.
August 6, 2009
Police vs. ‘terrorists’ in Midway training
By Greg Kocher – Herald-Leader
Commands echoed through the corridors of Starks Hall: “Put up your hands slowly! Put your hands up where we can see them!”
So concluded a Wednesday training exercise on the Midway College campus, as police from Versailles and Lexington learned how to deal with terrorism tactics that might present themselves in real life.
In this scenario, police defused a situation in which four bad guys were trying to draw officers into the building so they could be picked off by gunshots. Enemy combatants used that technique against U.S. soldiers in Iraq.
August 5, 2009
NRC wants to tighten oversight of often-lost radioactive devices
By ISAAC WOLF, Scripps Howard News Service
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is proposing to apply stronger oversight to frequently lost radioactive devices — items a Scripps Media investigation found have been recycled into metal used to manufacture consumer and other products.
For years, the metal industry has asked the government to do a better job regulating items containing radioactive isotopes, such as X-ray machines, industrial sensors and gauges. But, in the past, federal authorities have been resistant, saying extra oversight wouldn’t be worth the cost.
The new proposal, published August 3 in the Federal Register, would expand that oversight, giving federal and state officials more muscle by stiffening regulations on almost 2,000 items — mostly industrial gauges containing radioactive material. Extra scrutiny would help cut down on lost material, government and private industry experts say.
August 5, 2009
Terror drill off New York tests agencies against seaborne attack
By Jason Kessler – CNN
Federal, state and municipal agencies staged an elaborate drill in the waters off New York City on Tuesday to prepare for the possibility of a nuclear or dirty-bomb attack from the water.
“We’re a big city, and there are vulnerabilities,” said Ray Kelly, commissioner of the New York Police Department.
Agencies involved in Tuesday’s test emphasized they did not undertake it because of a specific threat against the city. However, Kelly said the city was taking no chances after a proclamation years ago by Osama bin Laden. “We do know that Osama bin Laden several years ago obtained a fatwah to use nuclear weapons, and our goal is to make certain that that fatwah does not come to fruition,” he said.
July 29, 2009
Homeland Secretary to reveal security plans: report
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is expected to reveal on Wednesday the Obama administration’s domestic policies to prevent terrorist attacks, the Wall Street Journal said on Tuesday.
In an interview, Napolitano said the new strategy is expected to rely largely on refining and expanding initiatives launched under former President George W. Bush, the paper reported on its website.
The new plans are part of a wider effort to significantly increase the cooperation Napolitano’s agency has with state and local governments in the United States, the paper said.
July 24, 2009 Maj. Gen. John Basilica
Response Force a ‘serious Capability’ in a Crisis
by Master Sgt. Mike Smith
When all other emergency response capabilities are exhausted during a crisis, a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear high-yield explosive, consequence-management response force (CCMRF) or “C-Smurf” would be called in to assist civil authorities, DoD officials said today.
“It’s definitely a serious capability that we are trying to develop in this country,” Maj. Gen. John Basilica told participants in the DoD Bloggers Roundtable. “We are making significant progress.”
The nation is standing up three CCMRF units, he said. One is currently operational and a second unit is scheduled to be operational this October.
July 24, 2009
White House Homeland Security Council Urges Nuclear Attack Response Planning
By Arnold Bogis
Former Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill famously remarked, “All politics is local.”
The same holds true for nuclear terrorism.
The recently released Planning Guidance for Response to a Nuclear Detonation, developed by the White House Homeland Security Council, stresses that it’s “incumbent upon all levels of government” to prepare “through focused nuclear attack response planning.” Mayors, governors, emergency managers and first responders will be the first to deal with the consequences, and according to that same guidance, “local and state community preparedness to respond to a nuclear detonation could result in life-saving on the order of tens of thousands of lives.”
Ready or Not?, a yearly analysis of preparedness for health emergencies that’s released by the nonprofit Trust for America’s Health, found that “surge capacity remains the largest threat to the nation’s ability to respond to a major catastrophe.” Local, and specifically, regional abilities to care for the wounded will be vital just after a nuclear terrorist attack. Unfortunately many communities haven’t gotten the point.
July 23, 2009
San Diego State University lab tries to spot ‘dirty bombs’
Lab develops perimeter system to spot radiological materials
BY GEOFF KOHL
At San Diego State University’s Department of Homeland Security Immersive Visualization Center, they’re trying to spot “dirty bomb” components accurately. The lab recently unviled a joint homeland security project that they did with Defentect to create a perimeter system for the detection of radiation.
Set up at the perimeter to the lab on the SDSU campus, the system is designed to detect radiological materials. It uses a software platform from Defentect for management, monitoring and messaging along with a GT2 gross gamma detection sensor. Also in use to provide a video surveillance element (to give the gamma sniffer some eyes), are Axis network cameras tied to an OnSSI Ocularis IP video management system.
July 22, 2009 Oyster Creek NPP
Evacuation proposal has some skeptical
DEP and State Police discuss status of plan
By BOB VOSSELLER
Despite assurances by representatives of the State Police Office of Emergency Management, not everyone at a public hearing Tuesday night was convinced that a radiological emergency evacuation plan could be safely implemented.
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State Department of Environmental Protection officials and representatives of the State Police discussed the status of the evacuation plan during an annual public hearing that followed a one-hour informal session concerning what would happen if a nuclear incident occurred at Oyster Creek Generating Station in the Forked River section of Lacey.
Jill Lipoti, DEP director of environmental safety and health, served as hearing officer for the proceeding. A number of booklets and fact sheets were on hand for residents to review.
July 21, 2009
Darpa Searches for Next-Gen Nuke-Spotters
By Katie Drummond
In 2007, former Homeland Security nuclear office director Vayl Oxford reported that metal containers like steel and lead could prevent the detection of dangerous radioactive material being smuggled into the country. The same year, an initial test campaign of detectors suggested their effectiveness was shaky at best – though official test results were never released.
Now Darpa, the military’s way out research arm, wants proposals for radiation detectors with better accuracy than previous models. In particular, they’re hoping for sensors that can spot dangerous substances through dense storage materials. “Since alpha and beta particles are effectively shielded by containment, innovative concepts and approaches to detect secondary effects associated with neutron and gamma ray emission is of interest.”
July 15, 2009
Aid cuts spark debate over Prairie Island nuclear plant
The city of Red Wing and Xcel Energy differ on the effect that the governor’s state aid reductions might have on protection for Prairie Island.
By MIKE KASZUBA, Star Tribune
As Xcel Energy pushes plans to extend the life of the Prairie Island nuclear plant, Red Wing officials say that Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s state aid cuts have made them less confident in their longterm ability to protect it.
City officials, in an unusual step, have intervened in Xcel’s proposal before the state public utilities commission — a sign that Pawlenty’s budget cuts may have unintended consequences.
In a newsletter to residents, Red Wing officials said they have “concerns regarding [the city's] diminishing ability to adequately address the unique obligations we have as a host city to a nuclear power plant.”
More…
July 9, 2009
Wisconsin’s top emergency manager steps down
Governor Doyle announced the retirement of Wisconsin Emergency Management Administrator Johnnie Smith. Officials said the agency’s deputy director, Steve Peterson will take over as acting administrator when Smith’s retirement takes effect at the end of the month.
Smith, of Sun Prairie, led WEM since October 2004. Smith previously worked in gaming and narcotics enforcement for state agencies, and spent 29 years with the Milwaukee Police Department.
Wisconsin Emergency Management coordinates disaster response and recovery efforts in support of local governments. WEM programs include Hazard Mitigation, Warning and Communications, Emergency Police and Fire Services, Disaster Response and Recovery, Hazardous Materials & EPCRA, Radiological Emergency Preparedness, and Exercise and Training for the State of Wisconsin.
July 6, 2009
Raytheon’s radiological detection pulls in $1.2M
Raytheon Co. reports its Integrated Defense Systems unit has landed $1.2 million from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to develop a system to detect radiological materials.
Under the deal, the second phase of a five-phase, $2.9 millon contract, Raytheon (NYSE: RTN) will develop technology for a stand-off warning against radiological materials (SWARM). The five phases are planned to last eight months. The project is being run out of DHS’ Domestic Nuclear Detection Office under the Exploratory Research in Nuclear Detection Technology Program.
July 6, 2009
U.S. Army Conducts Major WMD Response Exercise
The U.S. Army last month joined with federal, state and local officials in Wisconsin to conduct its largest WMD preparedness exercise, according to a service news release (see GSN, June 10).
The two-week effort, dubbed “Red Dragon,” simulated a variety of events throughout southern Wisconsin, including the detonation of a radiological “dirty bomb” at a Milwaukee baseball stadium.
Most of the more than 2,300 Army Reserve soldiers who participated in the exercise belonged to specialized units trained to provide defense and detection of weapons of mass destruction, along with decontamination services.
One of goals of the exercise was to help military personnel work closely with local emergency responders in the event of a WMD attack, said Brig. Gen. James Cook, commander of the 415th Chemical Brigade in Greenville, S.C.
More…
July 3, 2009
Hearing covers plan for incident
By Bill Gallo Jr.
State representatives met with the public here Wednesday night for an annual review of the emergency plan which would be put into effect if there were a threatening release of radiation from any of the three nuclear reactors here in the county.
Required by state law, the public hearing on the New Jersey Radiological Response Plan gives residents a chance to question or give their comments to the agency representatives responsible carrying out the plan.
The plan is a coordinated effort between the New Jersey State Police, which would be the lead agency in case of an emergency, and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. It spells out the duties and roles that state, county and local officials would play in case of an actual release of radiation at any of PSEG Nuclear’s three reactors on Artificial Island in Lower Alloways Creek Township.
July 1, 2009
New York police expand dirty bomb security
By Christine Kearney – Reuters
Thousands of additional law enforcement officers within 50 miles of New York City will have access to radiation detectors for dirty bombs and nuclear devices, New York police said on Wednesday.
The detectors, including cell phone-sized devices that officers wear on their belts, can help uncover a dirty bomb might be assembled outside New York and smuggled in, police said at a security conference. New York Police Department officers have used such devices for several years.
Police spokesman Paul Browne said thousands of law enforcement officers in areas surrounding New York City, including state police and sheriff’s departments in New Jersey and Connecticut, were joining New York in a program aimed at detecting dirty bombs and averting nuclear attacks.
June 29, 2009
Legislation Would Restore Funds for NYC Radiation Detection Initiative
ongress last week moved toward passing legislation that would restore some level of funding for a pilot program to surround New York City with radiation sensors (see GSN, May 15).
The Obama administration’s fiscal 2010 budget request eliminates all funding for the Securing the Cities program.
Medical personnel stage respond to mock terrorist attack
Hospital staff train to respond to dirty bomb
By Elizabeth Donatelli
LOUISVILLE, KY – Since 9-11 the U.S. has taken many steps to avoid terrorist attacks, but you can never be too careful. On Thursday, a group of health care professionals from University Hospital tested their skills at responding to a “dirty bomb.” The emphasis was on decontaminating patients while keeping themselves and the hospital clean.
As part of the realistic drill, participants painted on fake wounds and acted as patients, while nurses and techs learned to use equipment to detect radiation. The Department of Veteran Affairs ran the exercise, also teaching them how and when to shower the wound and what needed to be scrubbed further.
June 21, 2009
New detector not much better catching nuke matter
By EILEEN SULLIVAN, AP
Federal investigators say the government’s next generation radiation detectors are only marginally better at detecting hidden nuclear material than monitors already at U.S. ports, but would cost more than twice as much.
The machines are intended to prevent terrorists or criminals from smuggling into the U.S. a nuclear bomb or its explosive components hidden in a cargo container.
The monitors now in use can detect the presence of radiation, but they cannot distinguish between threatening and nonthreatening material. Radioactive material can be found naturally in ceramics and kitty litter, but would be of no use in making a bomb, for instance.
The Department of Homeland Security has said the new machines it is developing can distinguish between kitty litter and dangerous radioactive material and produce fewer false alarms than the current ones.
June 19, 2009
Who ya gonna call to decon a 500-pound dirty bomb?
Jim Stingl | In My Opinion
A good day, and I’m speaking generally here, will not include a decontamination tent.
If you’re being told by someone encased in a haz-mat suit how to scrub the radioactive sheen off yourself – don’t forget your feet! – something has gone terribly awry.
Or, if you’re luckier, it’s a realistic disaster drill like the ones this week at nearly a dozen local hospitals.
Civilian medical personnel worked in tandem with Army reservists to care for “victims” unfortunate enough to be at Milwaukee’s Baserunner Stadium – it’s considered bad karma to use the real name of our ballpark, I was told – the day a 500-pound dirty bomb went off in a parked van outside.
June 18, 2009
Reservists train for simulated bomb attack
Exercise at Aurora tests military, medical center
By JOSH LINTEREUR • Sheboygan Press staff
David James arrived at the Aurora Sheboygan Memorial Center Wednesday morning on a stretcher, writhing in pain from the radiation burns covering his chest.
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Within moments he was being sent through a decontamination tent outside the hospital, where he was sprayed and sponged before being rushed to intensive care.
His injuries were faked as part of an attack training exercise, though you wouldn’t know it by his screaming.
“I tried to make it look as realistic as I could,” said James, 26.
June 16, 2009
FEMA gives VY high marks for disaster drill
By CHRIS GAROFOLO, Reformer Staff
The Federal Emergency Management Agency Radiological Assistance Committee gave Vermont Yankee officials and participants in the plant’s evacuation exercise high scores for their work in and around the nuclear power station last Wednesday.
FEMA teams, along with emergency management teams from 18 communities in three states, tested the plant’s ability to react in the event of a leak at Vermont Yankee. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission critiqued the interior actions at the plant.
During a public meeting Monday night at the Vernon Elementary School, FEMA Tech Hazards Program Specialist Robert J. Swartz said the plant performed very well during the five-hour drill. In his 13 years, this is the best performance in an evaluation drill by Vermont Yankee.
June 12, 2009
Terror drill: ‘New York, you have a problem’
By TOM HAYS (AP)
The FBI was scrambling.
Agents had intercepted information about a possible terrorist attack in Manhattan, including a diagram showing a mysterious device. The raw intelligence was relayed to experts in Washington, who offered a daunting diagnosis: “You have a problem.”
As chilling as that sounded, the situation wasn’t real. But authorities say it could be, and what followed over the next two days was an ambitious stress test of the city’s line of defense against a radiological or nuclear terrorist attack.
The exercise earlier this week involved hundreds of New York Police Department officers and FBI agents trained at detecting threats, along with an elite unit of federal weapons experts expected — with the approval of the U.S. attorney general — to swoop in by plane and defuse them.
June 9, 2009
Public Comments Sought for Two Radiological Emergency Preparedness Documents
By Sandy Smith
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is seeking public comment on two radiological emergency preparedness documents, published in the Federal Register. These documents will update emergency preparedness requirements for planning and response organizations surrounding operating nuclear power plants.
The two documents are Supplement 4 to “Criteria for Preparation and Evaluation of Radiological Emergency Response Plans and Preparedness in Support of Nuclear Power Plants” (NUREG-0654/FEMA-REP-1, Rev.1) and the proposed revision to the August 2002 Interim Radiological Emergency Preparedness (REP) Program Manual.
June 7, 2009
New York Guard trains for dirty bomb attack
Story courtesy of the New York National Guard
COLONIE, N.Y.– About 400 New York Army and Air National Guardsmen as well as volunteers from the New York State Guard converged on Albany June 5-7 to hone their skills in responding to a dirty bomb attack on an American city.
The three-day exercise brought members of the New York National Guard’s CERFP-an element trained to rescue survivors from contaminated attack sites– from Buffalo, the Finger Lakes and New York City, to the state capitol to exercise with civilian urban search and rescue experts in finding victims buried in building rubble.
June 6, 2009
‘Critical’ for EMS workers to keep upgrading their skills, minister says
ALISON LANGLEY , REVIEW STAFF WRITER
The key to surviving an emergency, whether man-made or natural, is preparation.
That was the message Peter Van Loan, the federal Minister of Public Safety, brought to emergency medical services personnel at their national conference Friday.
“Being prepared involves three simple steps: Know the risks, make a plan and get a kit,” he said, referring to the government’s recent campaign that encouraged all Canadians to prepare an emergency kit that will sustain them for at least 72 hours in the event of a local emergency.
“If people can sustain themselves until help arrives, it frees up first responders so they can focus on urgent cases.”
June 4, 2009
New technology tracks radioactive cargo on the web
Part of security rule HM-232, issued following 9/11 by the Transportation Security Administration, required shippers of radioactive and/or hazardous materials to establish a national system to track such materials.
Eight years later, no ubiquitous system exists, even though about 3 million shipments of radioactive material are made annually, according to the Department of Transportation. Not only are state and local authorities usually completely unaware when radioactive shipments pass through their jurisdictions, when radioactive sources go missing, there is no reliable way to find them. The fear, of course, is that this material could fall into the wrong hands.
An automated radioactive materials tracking system emerging at Oak Ridge (Tenn.) National Laboratory that goes far beyond barcodes, radio-frequency identification (RFID) and GPS may be the answer.
June 3, 2009
New Survey Examines Radiation Messages for Public Health Workers
MARIETTA, Ga. (AScribe Newswire) — A new survey of public health workers about radiological incidents like a “dirty bomb” attack has found that most feel confident that they could take the actions needed to protect the public, but want clear, detailed information to help them do so.
The survey was coordinated by the National Public Health Information Coalition (NPHIC) and funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) Radiation Studies Program. Messages were tested on public health workers to determine if the information would improve their ability to respond. More than 2,700 public health employees in California, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan North Carolina and South Carolina participated in the survey in January and February. In addition, 69 employees in the same states participated in focus group discussions late last year.
More…
June 3, 2009
Officials say no radioactive material spilled
Sources of cobalt-60 came loose at truck terminal
knoxnews.com
A spokesman with the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said Tuesday there was no spill of radioactive material at the Yellow Freight Roadway trucking terminal in West Knoxville, although he said the shielded sources of radioactive cobalt-60 did come loose from their transportation crate.
“There were no leaks,” said Jeremy Heidt of TEMA. He emphasized there was never a threat to public health or workers.
First responders from around the region, the state and the country are in Albany working on a drill scenario involving a dirty bomb detonation in Downtown Albany.
June 2, 2009
Dirty bomb drill in Albany
Reported by: Walt McClure
Preparing for the unthinkable — piecing together who needs to do what in case a dirty bomb were ever detonated in the Capital Region.
If you see a helicopter flowing low over your house in Albany or Rensselaer Counties this week, in all likelihood, it’s just part of this drill…a test to see what could happen if a radiation-filled device went off here.
Nearly 600 first responders from the local level to the federal level are in Albany this week to go through the scary scenario and come up with solid plans to deal with it in real life.
May 31, 2009
Vermont to participate in dirty bomb drill
BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) – The Vermont Department of Health will be taking part in a 3-day, large scale exercise designed to test emergency response to the detonation of a “dirty bomb” in Albany, N.Y. The exercise will include multiple local, state and federal participants.
A “dirty bomb” is a device that spreads radioactive materials with explosives.
The latest phase of the exercise will run from Tuesday through Thursday.
May 29, 2009
Copter to buzz region during radiation test
Event challenges first-responders in area
By HUMBERTO MARTINEZ, Staff writer
ALBANY — A low-flying helicopter equipped to test for radiation will zoom over the Capital Region in early June as part of a disaster preparedness exercise.
“Empire 09″ is a three-day exercise to test the abilities of more than 500 local, state and federal first responders in the event that a “dirty bomb,” also known as a radiological dispersal device, is used in the Albany area.
A silver and black Bell 412 helicopter will fly out of Albany International Airport over downtown Albany, the Hudson River, and western Rensselaer County from June 1-5 as part of the routine.
May 26, 2009
King Fights to Continue NYC Nuclear Detection
by Mickey McCarter
Republican’s bill would extend Securing the Cities
The leading Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee introduced a bill on May 22 to continue funding for a radiological detection program in New York City that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed to cut.
Rep. Peter King (R-NY) questioned the lack of continued funding for the Securing the Cities pilot program, which would be in the last of its three years in fiscal 2010, during a May 13 budget hearing with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. King was highly critical of zeroing out the program during the hearing, but Napolitano protested that New York officials had not even completed their application for fiscal 2009 funds available under the program.
May 26, 2009
Area agencies prepare for emergencies
LuAnn Morgan
The Hanford Nuclear Reservation isn’t that far away from Adams County. Yet, in the event of an incident, residents don’t need to be overly concerned.
Part of the reason is because of the way the wind blows. The other part is because each year, members of every emergency department in the county take part in a refresher course on radiological incidents.
“Communication is important,” said Steve Williams, with the state Emergency Management Division. “You may not have a lot of resources until the cavalry arrives.”
The cavalry Williams mentioned at last week’s training session is comprised of the various state and federal departments, which will bring supplies and manpower. EMD is part of that group.
May 23, 2009
Smile! The U.S. sees you coming
Tonda MacCharles
CRAIG GLOVER FOR THE TORONTO STAR Starting June 1, 2009 anyone crossing into the United States from Canada will require a passport or a special document approved by the U.S. government.
DETROIT – About 15 metres before a car from Canada reaches the border inspection booth, the screenings begin.
A camera snaps your licence plate.
An electronic card reader mounted on a yellow post scans your car for the presence of any radio-frequency ID cards inside. If there is an enhanced driver’s licence embedded with biometric information, its unique PIN number is read without you offering it.
The Customs and Border Protection computer connects with your province’s database and in less than a second – .56 to be exact – your personal information is uploaded to a screen in the booth. A second camera snaps the driver’s face.
May 22, 2009
Berkeley County to stage full-scale terrorism drill
On Wednesday, May 27, Berkeley County will host Lowcountry Weapons of Mass Destruction Full-Scale Exercise, a terrorism response drill that will involve two-thousand participants from local, state, and federal agencies.
It will originate at the Berkeley County Emergency Services Training Center.
The drill is designed to practice emergency response plans, policies, and procedures as they pertain to a radiological terrorist incident.
May 21, 2009
Fake “dirty bomb” planned for disaster drill
by Patrick Tolbert
WACO – If you see HazMat crews working on the HOT Fairgrounds Thursday, rest assured, it’s only a drill.
A mock terror attack will take place in Waco as part of Thursday’s regional disaster training drill.
The Waco-McLennan County Office of Emergency Management will focus on training for a potential terrorist attack but some of the same elements included in the response plan would also be similar to a natural disaster.
May 20, 2009
Local law enforcement gadgets can detect radiation
Claudia Vargas • Staff Writer
New radiation-detection gadgets have been added to local law enforcement officials’ toolbox as part of a statewide war against terror. State police and officials from the state Office of Homeland Security said Tuesday that Monroe County is the newest addition to the Upstate Radiological Security Program, which began in 2007 in Erie County. The program, which is funded through annual Homeland Security grants — $1.4 million in the 2008 fiscal year — is meant to prepare law enforcement officials to detect and interdict radiological materials before they can be used to make weapons of mass destruction.
More…
May 19, 2009
CPD gets grant for hazard detection equipment
Mississippi’s Office of Homeland Security has awarded an $80,000 grant to the Columbus Police Department for the purchase of hazard detection equipment and training for designated personnel.
The grant was presented on behalf of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety.
CPD will use the funding to improve its capability for detecting and disposing of such hazardous materials as chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive materials.
May 19, 2009
New Tools in the Fight Against Terrorism
Law enforcement officials are bringing anti-terrorism programs used in New York City to other areas of the state, including Rochester.
On Tuesday, authorities from the New York State Police, FBI, and State Office of Homeland Security joined local officials to announce the expansion. Local law enforcement officers will now have access to new tools, such as a pager-sized personal radiation detector.
May 18, 2009
FEMA Seeks Comments on Radiological Threat Guidance
Agency publishes proposed regulations for nuclear power plants
by Mickey McCarter
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has called for public comments on two documents providing guidance on preparations for radiological threats, the agency announced in the Federal Register Monday.
The documents, available online for comments at www.regulations.gov, include the “Criteria for Preparation and Evaluation of Radiological Emergency Response Plans” (also known as “Supplement 4″) and the FEMA “Radiological Emergency Preparedness Response Manual” (REPP Manual)
May 18, 2009
Mobile nuke detector to patrol Florida streets
By Aharon Etengoff
Chicago (IL) – The state of Florida has purchased a mobile nuclear radiation detection system from Raytheon. The mobile SUV-based unit is expected to improve the state’s ability to safeguard against nuclear terrorist threats on highways, bridges, overpasses, tunnels, ports of entry and public venues.
“These systems have been developed to meet a critical need shared by every state with a large city,” explained Raytheon spokesperson Mary Petryszyn. “In this case, we are providing the state of Florida the proven capability that it needs to protect its citizens against nuclear threats.”
May 11, 2009
Australian Man Possessed Enough Uranium for “Dirty Bomb,” Police Allege
An Australian court heard arguments Friday against a 45-year-old man who allegedly possessed enough uranium oxide powder to disperse in a radiological “dirty bomb,” the Melbourne Age reported (see GSN, Feb. 12).
Authorities said they found the depleted uranium in a storage space held by Andrew John McNaughton, of Victoria, who was arrested April 1 for on suspicion of “sourcing and distributing” secret police information. Also reportedly found were drug equipment and a classified police document.
May 7, 2009
Obama’s Budget Eliminates New Funding for Nuclear Detection
President Obama would eliminate new funding for advanced-generation equipment to detect nuclear weapons and radiological materials at U.S. borders and ports and around New York City in his 2010 budget, homeland security officials said.
The decisions, outlined in Homeland Security Department budget documents and briefings Thursday, mark a turn away from a priority of the administration of former president George W. Bush, who with former vice president Dick Cheney championed development of new technologies that could lead to a ring of domestic sensors of weapons of mass destruction.
May 7, 2009
NY Police: Counterterror program takes budget hit
NEW YORK – New York police officials have found some troubling fine print in President Obama’s proposed budget.
The budget released Thursday proposes pulling funding in 2010 for a program that’s helped the NYPD develop a system to detect and repel radiological or nuclear terror threats.
The NYPD has already received more than $53 million in Homeland Security Department grants for the effort, including $20 million this year. It has used the money to arm officers and vehicles with radiation detectors and to recruit other law enforcement agencies to form a protective ring around the city.
May 5, 2009
Detecting Dirty Bombs from a Safe Distance
The new telescope has two detectors surrounded by eight photomultiplier tubes.
By Brittany Sauser
Tracking and locating hazardous radioactive materials has become an immense concern for the United States Department of Homeland Security. In the wrong hands, materials snatched from a hospital or a nuclear plant could be used to build a “dirty bomb” that might cause major harm to human health and the environment.
Researchers at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) have now built a highly sensitive device for detecting radioactive materials remotely, using spare detectors from NASA’s Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory. The detectors were originally intended to measure gamma rays in space. “It is a very robust, reliable, and precise piece of instrumentation that has already been proven to work in space,” says James Ryan, the lead researcher for the telescope and a professor of physics at UNH. “If it works in space, you bet it will work on the ground.”
May 4, 2009
No contamination nor injuries reported at ‘low level’ event
By Darrell Richardson – The Oak Ridger
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. —
On-site response personnel initially responded to an “operational emergency” reported at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Building 7920 shortly after 5 a.m. Saturday.
Officials with the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office said that the operational emergency — “the lowest level of an emergency” — was due to radiation alarms sounding within Building 7920, also known as the Radiochemical Engineering Development Center or REDC.
more…
May 1, 2009
WMD Terrorism Threat Persists, Report Says
French soldiers conduct a WMD interdiction exercise in 2007. The U.S. State Department warned in a report yesterday that WMD terrorism remains a major threat (Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images).
“The nexus of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and terrorism poses one of the gravest risks to the national security of the United States and its global partners,” according to the Country Reports on Terrorism 2008. “A successful major WMD terrorist attack could result in mass casualties and produce far-reaching economic and political consequences.”
The report addresses four “material threats” — chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear.
April 30, 2009
Bus drivers not given emergency pagers
By BOB AUDETTE, Brattleboro Reformer Staff
Buses line up to pick up students outside of the Brattleboro Union High School, Wednesday afternoon. Zachary P. Stephens/Reformer
Pagers that were intended to be used to notify bus drivers in case of an evacuation of the emergency preparedness zone around the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant are gathering dust.
The beepers were purchased by Vermont Emergency Management and paid for by Entergy, which owns and operates Yankee. They were to be carried by First Student bus drivers.
“We provide them,” said John Angil, the director of the Department of Public Safety’s Radiological Emergency Response Plan.
April 30, 2009
Dirty Bombs
Frank Barnaby
The murder of the former Russian intelligence agent Alexander Litvinenko by radioactive poisoning with polonium-210 dramatically brought home the potential risks and effects of the terrorist use of a dirty bomb.
The Litvinenko murder demonstrated the difficulties of decontaminating people and structures, the problems of the timely detection and identification of any radioactive isotope used in a dirty bomb, particularly if it is an isotope that emits alpha particles. His rapid death demonstrated the very high toxicity of isotopes that emit alpha particles.
April 29, 2009
DHS solicits capability gaps from First Responders
Office of the Press Secretary
U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Science & Technology Directorate
Responder Technology
WASHINGTON — No one knows better than the boots-on-the-ground what technologies they need to help them perform their jobs more safely, efficiently and effectively. To find out what they know, the TechSolutions program, run by the United States Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T), is providing a venue for first responders to directly submit capability gaps. If the program accepts an idea, a prototype is typically developed within 12 to 15 months.
Mr. Greg Price, Director of the TechSolutions program, is announcing the launch of a new TechSolutions Website as part of the DHS First Responder Technologies (R-Tech) program. This new Website, www.TechSolutions.DHS.gov, will streamline the submission process.
April 14, 2009
3 held over radioactive material
Kiev – Three Ukrainians have been arrested for seeking to sell radioactive material that could have been used by terrorists to make a “dirty bomb”, the country’s SBU security service said Tuesday.
The three men were arrested in the western Ternopil region last Thursday when they tried to sell a container of radioactive material for $10m, the SBU said in a statement.
April 23, 2009
Fifth Third Field hosts EPA emergency team drill
High-tech gear gets workout at stadium
By CARL RYAN
BLADE STAFF WRITER
The thin, yard-long cylinders affixed to light standards around Fifth Third Field for Tuesday’s Mud Hens game with Indianapolis looked simple enough, but they were supersensitive radiation detectors designed to be located outside nuclear power plants.
They were just part of the high-tech array the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency brought to downtown this week for a series of emergency response exercises at the ball park.
Game night, EPA personnel monitored the air inside and outside the ball park for any hint of radiation or chemicals that could be used to make a bomb.
April 16, 2009
Nuclear evacuation planner’s job is cost-free but faces ax
By Peter Hirschfeld – Vermont Press Bureau
MONTPELIER – A program assistant who helps plan evacuation protocols near the Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor is among the 320 state workers identified in the Douglas administration’s reduction-in-force plan.
Gov. James Douglas says the layoffs are needed to save $17 million in General Fund expenses. However, the radiological-preparedness position held by Jaclyn Harman – one of two state workers identified for potential elimination at the Department of Public Safety’s 21-person Vermont Emergency Management division – is paid for entirely from a special reserve funded by the owners of the nuclear plant.
April 16, 2009
Port of Mombasa to counter nuke threats
WASHINGTON , April 15 (UPI) — Kenya has signed a deal with the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration to partner on countering nuclear proliferation.
The NNSA, an agency in the Department of Energy, announced the Kenyan Ministry of Transport has agreed to upgrade the Port of Mombasa’s infrastructure with next-generation radiation-detection equipment.
The Port of Mombasa nuclear non-proliferation infrastructure upgrade is part of the NNSA’s ongoing Megaports Initiative. With the radiation-detection equipment installation, the Port of Mombasa joins 20 other major international ports taking steps to combat illicit nuclear trafficking.
April 15, 2009
Radiation Safety Expert Launches Web Site For Emergency Responders
Radiological emergency safety expert John Darrin launched a new web site today to provide resources for emergency responders to radiological events such as terrorist attacks and nuclear power plant accidents. The launch is intended to coincide with the National Radiological Emergency Preparedness Conference in Norfolk, VA, April 20 -24. The site includes news, training, product reviews, and other resources for these responders. Darrin says he will host and maintain the site, but the content will come from the responders themselves.
The potential for radiological emergencies has increased exponentially in recent years. While the safety record of nuclear power plants following the Three Mile Island partial core melt-down in 1979 has been exemplary, there is a new focus on terrorist attacks using dirty bombs or nuclear weapons. Following the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center Twin Towers in 2001, the Department of Homeland Security released the 15 National Planning Scenarios as part of its National Preparedness Guidelines. These include scenarios for a nuclear weapon detonation and a Radiological Dispersal Device (dirty bomb), and estimate casualties as high as hundreds of thousands of people, with a million or more refugees and hundreds of billions of dollars in economic impact. It is this magnitude of disaster that emergency responders would face.
April 14, 2009
Ukrainian Lawmaker Arrested for Peddling Radioactive Material
Associated Press/Google News.
A Ukrainian lawmaker and two associates were arrested last week on suspicion of trying to sell 8.2 pounds of a substance that could be used in a radiological “dirty bomb,” the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Dec. 5, 2008).
The three suspects told an undercover Ukrainian security service officer that the material was plutonium 239, which can be used in nuclear weapons, according to agency spokeswoman Marina Ostapenko. They offered to sell the material for $10 million, she said.
April 7, 2009
NZ, US to stop nuclear smuggling
Murray McCully and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sign an Arrangement For Cooperation On Nonproliferation Assistance
Reuters
New Zealand will give about $350,000 to prevent nuclear smuggling by setting up radiation monitors on Kazakhstan’s borders under an agreement with the United States, the US State Department said.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Foreign Minister Murray McCully signed an agreement for the two nations to work together to secure nuclear and radioactive materials that could be used in a nuclear weapon or a “dirty” radiological bomb.
more…
March 30, 2009
University of Pennsylvania First to Complete U.S. Radiological Security Program
The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia said Friday that it is the first civilian site in the United States to complete the full course of voluntary activities to help ensure the security of material that could be used in a radiological “dirty bomb”.
The security enhancements are offered by the National Nuclear Security Administration and other federal agencies through the Global Threat Reduction Initiative, a 5-year-old program that works internationally to secure nuclear and radiological materials that could be be put to weapons uses.
March 30, 2009
Radioactive Material Recovered in China
Potentially lethal radioactive material has been recovered in China after going missing early last week, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Feb. 9).
Cesium 137 was one component of a lead ball used in a measuring device at the Shaanxi Qinling Cement Co. plant that was demolished Monday, according to the Xinhua News Agency. Government officials found the device at its unknowing new owner, a steel mill,
“The production facilities were auctioned to a company called Sichuan Kangna. The company staff mistook the scale for steel scraps and sold it,” said a spokesman for the cement firm.
Meanwhile, authorities in Canada said recently that 75 radioactive devices had gone missing from 2005 to the end of 2008, the Canadian Press reported today.
March 30, 209
Radioactive devices continue to go astray: report
The Canadian Press
OTTAWA — Seventy-five radioactive devices used in Canadian medicine and industry went astray in recent years – almost one-third of them dangerous enough to cause people harm, newly released figures show.
A Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission report says 24 radioactive items classified as “moderate-risk” or “high-risk” were lost or stolen from 2005 through the end of last year.
Security officials have tried to improve tracking of such devices, used for everything from measuring soil moisture to irradiating blood, out of concern they could be used for malicious purposes including terrorist attacks.
March 25, 2009
House Backs Nuclear Forensics Funding
The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday approved legislation authorizing $30 million in annual spending to develop new methods for tracking the source of nuclear-weapon material seized during transit or used in an attack, Congressional Quarterly Today reported.
Supporters say that improved nuclear forensics capabilities are key to deterring acts of terrorism involving a nuclear weapon or radiological “dirty bomb,” which would use conventional explosives to disperse radioactive material.
March 25, 2009
UK Government warns of growing terrorism threat
By Michael Holden
LONDON (Reuters) – The government warned of a growing terrorist risk from chemical, biological and radiological weapons Tuesday and pinpointed al Qaeda in Pakistan as a key threat as it revamped its national security strategy.
The government also said its updated counter-terrorism policy would focus efforts on trying to prevent young Muslims from being radicalised by violent Islamists, and involve ordinary Britons in tackling the threat.
more…
March 24, 2009
Add-On CBRNE Kit Now Available for TALON(R) GEN IV
MCLEAN, Va./PRNewswire via COMTEX/ —-QinetiQ North America’s Technology Solutions Group announced today that its new, modular CBRNE (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, explosive) kit is available and can be purchased as an addition to new or existing models of the GEN IV TALON robot. This latest modular capability from the makers of the widely used TALON family of robots is on display at the NDIA Ground Robotics Capabilities Conference in Dallas, Tex., this week in booth 502.
CBRNE/Hazmat TALON includes sensors for radiation, nerve agents, excessive temperatures, explosives, TNT, and volatile gases.
more…
March 17, 2009
New Document at the Responder Knowledge Base: Mobile Radioactive Material Search Systems — Focus Group Recommendations
A document titled “Mobile Radioactive Material Search Systems — Focus Group Recommendations” was recently added to the SAVER library.
March 12, 2009
Ground-breaking Vehicle-based Radiological Threat Detection and Identification System from Environics
Environics Oy will begin sales and manufacturing of vehicles for detection and analysis of radiological and nuclear threats. The concept is the first of its kind in the world wide market. The vehicles enable detection and identification of a radiological threat faster than ever before. Negotiations on the sales of first units are well on way.
The Measuring instruments are situated within the vehicles, which are in constant real-time connection to the databases and to the experts in the control centers. This enables a rapid, reliable and accurate analysis within a very short timeframe. This attribute can be used for example to secure the safety of mass events or high security meetings in major cities. The new technology also greatly reduces the possibility of false positive alarms.
March 10, 2009
19th Annual National Radiological Emergency Preparedness Conference
April 20-23 2009
Norfolk Marriott Waterside, Norfolk, Virginia
The Mission of the National Radiological Emergency Preparedness Conference is to provide a professional forum for individuals involved with the Radiological Emergency Preparedness programs to gather in the spirit of continuous self-improvement to share program experiences, develop solutions to common challenges, and create innovative planning, exercising and training methodologies.
March 10, 2009
LifeStorage to install bomb-detection tech
NORWALK, Conn., (UPI) — U.S. company Defentect has been contracted to install its threat-detection sensor technologies at LifeStorage’s suburban Chicago self-storage facilities.
Defentect was contracted to install its GT2 gamma radiation sensors and DM3 threat-awareness software at LifeStorage’s 10 suburban Chicago self-storage facilities.
LifeStorage decided to equip its self-storage facilities with radiological detection technologies in a move to prevent terrorist groups from storing dirty bomb parts, weapons or other illicit items at its facilities.
more…
March 4, 2009
Intelagard’s On-Demand Radiological Decontamination and Recovery Approach Technical Brief
The capacity to restore and recover infrastructure and other assets following a radiological release incident, whether intentional or accidental, is lacking due to a number of technological and logistical challenges. Rapid, efficient and cost effective recovery is critical to reduce public health risks, minimize economic impacts, restore public confidence, and in the case of an intentional incident, minimize the spread of fear thus discouraging further incidents. more…
March 4, 2009 Canadian reservists are being trained in case of an emergency.
Military readies reservists for threats to ‘domestic front’
The Canadian military has embarked on a wide-ranging plan to turn its reserve soldiers into focused units trained and equipped to respond to a nightmarish array of domestic threats, including terrorist “dirty bomb” attacks, biological agent containment, Arctic catastrophes and natural disasters.
more…
March 3, 2009
U.S. Agency Slow to Improve Radiation Screening, Auditor Says
The U.S. agency responsible for detecting nuclear smuggling has failed to implement needed reforms, according to a Government Accountability Office report released yesterday, more…
March 3, 2009
Little-known U.S. agency hunts down radioactive castoffs
A container holding an encased vial of plutonium 238 is prepared for removal from a company in the Silicon Valley that makes security inspection systems.
The potential toll of a dirty bomb using abandoned nuclear material justifies recovery team’s cost, government says.
By Richard C. Paddock
Reporting from Sunnyvale — The four-man government disposal team arrived Monday from Los Alamos, N.M., to take away the small canister of plutonium. Weighing just 1.3 grams, the plutonium-238 isotope had been owned by a Silicon Valley company for nearly 30 years and was stored safely in a 10-foot hole in the ground.
But in the wrong hands, federal officials say, the highly radioactive isotope could pose a serious threat to public safety and conceivably provide terrorists with material for a dirty bomb. more…
February 27, 2009
Nuclear bomb ‘within reach of terrorists’
Brendan Nicholson
TERRORISTS could well obtain or build a nuclear bomb and smuggle it into the heart of a major city, former (Australian) foreign minister Gareth Evans has warned.
Mr Evans, the co-chair of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, appeared before the joint standing committee on treaties yesterday to discuss nuclear proliferation. more…
February 25, 2009
Napolitano: DHS to miss cargo screening deadline
By EILEEN SULLIVAN
Secretary Napolitano
WASHINGTON (AP) — Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told lawmakers Wednesday that the agency cannot meet its 2012 deadline for screening all cargo coming into the U.S. for radiological and nuclear materials.
At her first hearing before the House Homeland Security Committee, Napolitano said the 2012 deadline set by Congress is not going to work. more…
February 23, 2009
Report lashes Oregon EMA
A scathing report of the Department of Emergency Management finds “dismal accounting practices” and “flagrant mismanagement” Inquiry finds no evidence that agency’s former director committed a crime Report lashes emergency agency.
By NIKOLE HANNAH-JONES
The Oregonian
MULTNOMAH COUNTY, Ore. — The Multnomah County agency charged with coordinating disaster response has for years operated under “flagrant mismanagement and a systematic failure of basic record keeping” that created an environment “ripe for abuse,” says a scathing report released Thursday. more…
20 Feb 2009
The present and future of nuclear safety
Questions over nuclear safety abound
The upcoming anniversaries of the two worst nuclear accidents in history present an opportune time to examine the state of nuclear safety, writes Jason Vaughn for Diplomatic Courier. more …
By Jason Vaughn for Diplomatic Courier
February 17, 2009
R-TAC Summit to Raise Awareness of Potential Threats
PRNewswire
Less than one-third of Americans feel they are prepared for a terrorist attack like a ‘dirty bomb.’ The Radiological Threat Awareness Coalition (R-TAC) has worked to remedy this preparedness gap through education and awareness campaigns. On February 25, 2009, R-TAC (www.r-tac.org) will be hosting the 2009 Radiological Threat Summit in Washington, D.C. more …
February 17, 2009
Prairie Island radioactive shipment shifted during transport, posed safety risk
Associated Press
RED WING, Minn. – A radioactive piece of equipment shipped from the Prairie Island nuclear plant to Pennsylvania in October shifted during transport, and had radiation levels eight times over safety standards by the time it reached its destination. more…
January 29, 2009
Homeland Security to Review Readiness for Medical “Surge” After WMD Strike
Global Security Newswire
The U.S. Homeland Security Department yesterday announced it would review measures aimed at preparing the country’s medical system to handle a massive influx of patients after a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear attack. more…
January 26, 2009
U.S. Awards Contract for “Dirty Bomb” Sensor Development
The U.S. Homeland Security Department has given New Jersey-based Dynasil Corp. a $5.6 million contract to help develop a new technology intended to spot radiological “dirty bombs” with high accuracy, United Press International reported Friday. more…
January 7, 2009
Bush Administration Could Release Disputed Radiological Cleanup Guide
Global Security Newswire
The Obama administration plans to re-evaluate a controversial Environmental Protection Agency draft guide that could significantly relax requirements for decontaminating sites affected by radiological incidents such as a “dirty bomb” attack, Risk Policy Report reported yesterday. more…
It was a great read. But, I have hard time believing that in 21st century our technologies still heavily rely on procedures that cause radiation exposure that bring such significant internal harm, including harm to nerve cells and the cells that line the digestive tract. Drastic loss of white blood cells, which are the body’s major defense against any type of infection, makes radiation victims extremely vulnerable to many diseases. Radiation also reduces manufacturing by body blood platelets, which aid blood clotting, therefore victims of radiation consumption are also vulnerable to hemorrhaging. And as of yet, there is no effective treatment from radiation exposure. On top of it, the cases of all recently publicized nuclear events in Japan are so dramatic that search for the alternative solutions are simply must.