USA’s inadequate radiation detection in overseas megaports

NUCLEAR SMUGGLING MONITORS CUT BACK Program intended to detect potential threats aimed at U.S. WND, by F. MICHAEL MALOOF WASHINGTON 14 Dec 12– The federal government is dramatically cutting back on funds to install nuclear and radiation detection equipment in overseas megaports to scan the contents of shipping containers destined for the United States, according to a report from Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.

The National Nuclear Security Administration, or NNSA, has completed
only 42 of 100 planned megaport projects in 31 countries, spending
some $850 million. However, NNSA, which is part of the U.S. Department
of Energy, is about to sustain an 85-percent reduction in its fiscal
year 2013 budget.

The cut has prompted officials to shift their focus from providing new
megaports with radiation detection equipment to sustaining the
existing facilities. As a consequence, NNSA has suspended ongoing
negotiations and canceled planned deployments of equipment in five
countries.

According to its mission statement, the NNSA is responsible for the
management and security of the country’s nuclear weapons, nuclear
non-proliferation and naval reactor programs. It also responds to
nuclear and radiological emergencies in the U.S. and overseas.

The agency also is responsible for ensuring the safe and secure
transportation of nuclear weapons and components and special nuclear
materials to their destination.

An analysis by the Government Accountability Office, or GAO, the
investigative arm of the U.S. Congress, found that effectiveness in
NNSA’s initiative is limited, apparently with the existing major
seaports. That could have an impact on installing and overseeing
future equipment to detect the smuggling of nuclear and radiological
materials.

“Without a long-term plan for ensuring countries’ ability to continue
megaports operations, NNSA cannot be assured that its $850 million
investment will be sustained,” the GAO said in the report.

“Moreover, the initiative’s performance measures do not provide
sufficient information for decision-making because they do not
evaluate the impact and effectiveness of the initiative,” the report
said.

In addition, a GAO investigation determined that NNSA’s megaports
initiative and a U.S. Department of Homeland Security Container
Security Initiative program that similarly examines high-risk shipping
containers for weapons of mass destruction before coming to the U.S.
were not “sufficiently coordinating.”

The two programs are co-located at 29 foreign seaports. The deficiency
in equipment became apparent when DHS told GAO investigators they were
using personal radiation detectors intended for personal safety but
inadequate for scanning containers to inspect them…….
Such deficiencies by two agencies with the job of preventing the
smuggling of nuclear materials – or worse, nuclear weapons – will
continue to leave the U.S. vulnerable.
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2012/12/nuclear-smuggling-monitors-cut-back/#F1hHcEcf4YmZXsAY.99