[ RadSafe ] " Domestic Nuclear Detection Office Proposed "

[Jaro]

http://www.aviationnow.com/publication/awst/loggedin/AvnowStoryDisplay.do?pu
bKey=awst&issueDate=2005-02-14&section=World+News+Roundup
World News Roundup 
Domestic Nuclear Detection Office Proposed 
Aviation Week & Space Technology 
02/14/2005, page 24
 
The Homeland Security Dept. wants to form a Domestic Nuclear Detection
Office (DNDO) to counter what Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Adm.
(ret.) James Loy says is "one of the most dangerous threats we face." The
President's Fiscal 2006 budget request calls for it to be funded by $227
million. DNDO's assignment is to develop and deploy an improved domestic
system to detect and report attempts to import or assemble a nuclear weapon
or transport fissile or radiological material for illegal use. The new
office is to be staffed by the departments of Homeland Security, Energy and
the FBI. The DNDO budget includes $125 million for additional sensors to
detect gamma and neutron radiation at U.S. border crossings. In addition to
deploying current technology, the office will be responsible for running
next-generation detector research and development programs. David Kay,
former chief weapons inspector for the U.S. in Iraq, notes that it will be
very challenging to find nuclear material in shipping containers, airline
luggage or cargo. He adds, "Basic radiation detectors work well in
laboratories, but subject them to high heat and humidity, dirt or dust, sand
. . . and you usually end up with a useless piece of electronics."

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