U.S. To Invest Over $1 Billion To Improve Nuclear Detection Devices

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July 14, 2006 3:01 PM

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said today it will spend $1.157 billion to enhance the detection of radiological and nuclear materials at the nation's points of entry. Gaps in port and border security were previously revealed by both the federal government and ABC News. Yet DHS promised today that the new equipment will improve the nation's ability to detect nuclear materials.

"This program is the latest effort in the Department's broader strategy to enhance our nation's security by harnessing cutting-edge technologies," said DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff. "This advanced equipment will greatly enhance our ability to manage risk and focus on the greatest threats, particularly those presented by nuclear and radiological elements."

The nation's current border detection contains major holes, according to a government report that was released in March. Federal investigators were able to smuggle enough cesium-137 into the country to create two dirty bombs. ABC News first sounded the alarm on gaps in port security in 2002 and 2003 when an ABC News team twice smuggled radioactive materials across the borders, past the inspectors and through the machines that are supposed to detect dangerous materials.

In 2002, and again in 2003, ABC News was able to ship 15 pounds of depleted uranium into the country without any detection. The first shipment started in Istanbul, where the radioactive material was packed in a suitcase, placed in a Turkish trunk and then loaded into a container shipped from a street corner in Istanbul. Weeks later, the container arrived in New York Harbor on board a cargo ship. Cargo ships are believed by many experts to be one of the most likely ways to slip nuclear material into the U.S.

"The ship, I think is one of the most dangerous delivery devices," according to Professor Graham Allison of Harvard's Belfer Center. "A weapon or material in the belly of a ship has been one of the nightmare scenarios for people that think about how nuclear weapons might arrive in the U.S."

The ABC News container with the uranium was run through detection machines that U.S. officials said were state-of-the-art, able to detect even the smallest amount of radioactive material. They did not find the material, however, which had the same signature as the highly enriched uranium used in nuclear weapons.

Even with advanced technology at our nation's borders and ports, much of the responsibility to detect nuclear smugglers rests with the border inspectors themselves. In the most recent test by federal investigators who tested border security, radiation detection alarms actually went off, but the investigators used counterfeit documents, which said they were licensed to carry the material, to get the material into the country.