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GAO Gets Radioactive Material Across U.S. Borders
The U.S. Government Accountability Office in an undercover investigation last year smuggled small amounts of cesium 137 into the United States using counterfeit documents, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, March 2). The material, used in industrial gauges, set off radiation alarms but was still allowed through border crossings into Texas and Washington state. Enough material was smuggled to make two “radiological” dirty bombs. The White House has vowed that within the next 45 days it will give U.S. Customs and Border Protection the tools it needs to determine a document’s authenticity. U.S. senators were expected at a hearing today to examine security problems uncovered by the GAO investigation. The office also labeled as “unlikely” the Homeland Security Department’s goal of installing 3,034 radiation detectors by September 2009 around the United States. It also found that the cost of installation is likely to be $342 million more than expected. From October 2000 to October 2005, about $286 million was spent on installation of the devices at U.S. mail facilities, border crossings, seaports and airports. “We suffer from a massive ‘blind spot’ in our cargo security measures,” said Senator Norm Coleman (R-Minn.). He added that the investigation “demonstrated that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is stuck in a pre-9/11 mind-set in a post-9/11 world and must modernize its procedures.” However, the commission maintained that nuclear security was a priority. “Security has been of prime importance for us on the materials front and the power plant front since 9/11,” said commission spokesman David McIntyre. To smuggle cesium across the border, GAO officials posed as employees of a fake company and attempted to cross from Canada and Mexico into the United States. When stopped, they presented counterfeit papers and Nuclear Regulatory Commission documents that indicated they were allowed to have and transport the cesium. The agents who confronted the investigators were not able to check whether the documents were authentic, the accountability office found. “Unless nuclear smugglers in possession of faked license documents raised suspicions in some other way, CBP officers could follow agency guidelines yet unwittingly allow them to enter the country with their illegal nuclear cargo,” the investigators said, adding that the problem is “a significant gap” in national safety protocol. The cesium would have had limited effect if used in a weapon, said Vayl Oxford, chief of the Homeland Security Department’s Domestic Nuclear Detection Office. The accountability found that while radiation false alarms are common, customs inspectors generally are proficient in distinguishing actual alarms. Ceramics, fertilizer, bananas and patients who have undergone certain medical procedures can cause false alarms (Liz Sidoti, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, March 28).
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