U.S. Homeland Security Chief Wants Big Improvements in Radiation Detection Technology

By Joe Fiorill
Global Security Newswire

WASHINGTON — Better technology is the key to improving U.S. efforts to detect incoming nuclear and radiological threats, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said yesterday (see GSN, June 22).

Appearing before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, Chertoff indicated technological improvements would be the primary focus of his agency’s new Domestic Nuclear Detection Office.

“We really need to get a better quality of detector,” Chertoff said. “That means we’ve got to jump-start some research and really move forward on it.”

As the most dangerous weapon-usable nuclear materials emit comparatively little radiation, some experts have questioned whether detection technology can be significantly improved (see GSN, June 8).

Homeland Security officials lately have stressed the need for detectors that are more discriminating, rather than more powerful, saying operators frequently turn down the machines’ sensitivity in order to avoid an overabundance of false alarms.

Besides calling for new detector research, Chertoff also stressed the need for efforts to screen more cargo overseas, before it heads toward the United States.

Erstwhile presidential challenger John Kerry (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the panel’s technology subcommittee, questioned why detection deployment within the United States has not proceeded more quickly.

Chertoff said delays are to be expected, given that much federal involvement in the effort takes the form of Homeland Security grants to ports and other local institutions. In particular, he cited the “reimbursement” form of the grants, some of which are paid out only after the receiving agency has procured the equipment. Local and state officials have long said that approach can lead to confusion and hesitation among grant recipients.

Kerry said that given the country’s “war footing” on terrorism, the deployments should be farther along. “That technology has existed now for some time,” Kerry said. “Why has that not been put on a sort of war footing deployment schedule?”

“The only frustration that I have and that a lot of people have is that we’ve been talking about this for several years,” he said.

Chertoff forcefully reiterated his stance that federal funding of terrorism prevention and response efforts around the country should be based on risk, rather than the present geography- or population-based formulas.

“Our fondest desire would be to have a situation in which as much of the money as possible is not driven by a geographically based formula,” he said.

Influential members of Congress, such as Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins (R-Maine), have differed with Homeland Security over how much formula-based funding to take away, while still supporting the principle that risk-based funding should be increased.

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