nuclear-news

Nuclear Detection Helicopter Flies Mission Around Washington D.C. Amid Unrest  The Drive 3 June 20, Reports of curious aerial activity over and around Washington, D.C. continue to emerge amid the response in the nation’s capital to protests and riots stemming from the police killing of Minneapolis resident George Floyd last week. E  Earlier today, a Department of Energy helicopter equipped with a specialized system to measure and map radiation levels flew a route around the greater D.C. area. It’s unclear if this flight was somehow related to the ongoing protests or if it was just a routine survey………The complete system’s primary job is to figure out the extent and severity of the spread of radiation after some sort of nuclear or radiological incident. This could be something like radiation leaks from a nuclear power plant or waste disposal facility following a natural or man-made disaster. It could also be the spread of radiation from a terrorist attack involving a dirty bomb or an accident involving an actual nuclear weapon.

A dirty bomb could be especially devastating if detonated in the midst of a large public gathering, such as a massive protest. Mass panic from such an attack could also lead to significant casualties simply from people fleeing the epicenter. The appearance of the Department of Energy Bell 412 over Washington, D.C. came after President Donald Trump announced new increased security measures to stem protests and rioting in the capital. This is exactly the kind of decision that could result in a “security bubble” getting established, which might then prompt NNSA to conduct an AMS survey mission as Associated Administrator Tilden had explained.