U.S. officials are testing new radiation detectors they hope will reduce nuisance alarms as shipping containers are scanned in U.S. ports (Getty Images). Feds to Push New U.S. Radiation Detection Technology By Jon Fox Global Security Newswire NEW YORK — Heartened by recent test results in Nevada, the director of the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office said yesterday he expects to recommend next-generation nuclear detectors be cleared for deployment in July (see GSN, March 15)...Full Story

Russian CW Disposal Site Construction to Move Ahead The United States and Russia have nearly reached the necessary agreements to move ahead with construction of the Shchuchye chemical weapons disposal plant in Siberia, a senior U.S. Defense Department official said yesterday (see GSN, March 1)...Full Story

U.S. Wants Quick North Korean Action on Reactor North Korea should move quickly to meet its obligation under a February agreement to close its Yongbyon nuclear reactor, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said today (see GSN, April 11)...Full Story

	Thursday, April 12, 2007

U.S. Intel Chief Pursues More Reforms The top U.S. intelligence official announced a plan yesterday to continue reforms to improve the performance of intelligence analysts and their agencies, the New York Times reported (see GSN, April 5). National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell called for improving collaboration among analysts and changing employment standards to allow agencies to hire skilled personnel who currently have eligibility issues, such as those with Middle Eastern heritage. On top issues such as the North Korean and Iranian nuclear crises, McConnell’s deputies are seeking to develop ways for analysts to share information more easily, discuss their interpretations and assess each other’s performance. Thomas Fingar, deputy national intelligence director for analysis, said he hopes to install an analyst rating system analogous to how buyers rate sellers on the eBay online auction site.  The system would recognize those who consistently made accurate assessments. Also, “if you are an idiot, we want that made known,” he said (Mark Mazzetti, New York Times, April 12). Back to top

Feds to Push New U.S. Radiation Detection Technology By Jon Fox Global Security Newswire NEW YORK — Heartened by recent test results in Nevada, the director of the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office said yesterday he expects to recommend next-generation nuclear detectors be cleared for deployment in July (see GSN, March 15). The detection office, a division within the U.S. Homeland Security Department, is about halfway through a test run of new radiation detection technology at the New York Container Terminal in Staten Island. The equipment scans seagoing containers to detect and identify radioactive material.  The detectors have already undergone testing at the Energy Department’s Nevada Test Site. While DNDO Director Vayl Oxford declined to describe the results of the February and March tests in any detail, he characterized the results as positive. “We are very optimistic that when we go to [Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff] this summer he will give us permission to go to production,” Oxford said yesterday during a tour of the Staten Island testing facility. Detectors now deployed at the nation’s ports and border crossings are adapted from technology used to detect radioactive material at scrap yards and other industrial sites.  While reportedly very sensitive, they only alert to the presence of radiation and are unable to differentiate different types of radioactive substances. That can become a problem when the machines alert to the naturally occurring radiation in materials such as granite, kitty litter or bananas.  A container flagged for radiation must undergo a secondary screening process to identify the emitting material, which can take up to 20 minutes. Port officials say there are 12 to 14 such alerts each day at the Staten Island facility, which handles 11 percent of the cargo flowing into the port of New York.  At California’s Long Beach port, Customs and Border Protection officials deal with as many as 400 such cases daily. “We’ve got to make their life better,” Oxford said. The new detectors carry a hefty price tag of $350,000 per unit, a significant increase over the $80,000 the current machines cost. Both the Government Accountability Office and Congress have questioned the benefits of the new system relative to the cost, and lawmakers have put a hold on a $1.2 billion plan for deployment of 1,400 machines until the Homeland Security Department can confirm that the technology is effective (see GSN, Oct. 3). Three firms have each received about $15 million to develop competing prototypes of the new detectors, and despite congressional doubts Oxford expects to go to Chertoff with a recommendation for full-scale production in July. By decreasing the number of necessary secondary inspections to a “mere fraction” of what is currently required, “we’re going to be able to manage both the risk and the flow of commerce with these systems,” Oxford said. Oxford said the detection office plans to run about 10,000 containers through the test array at the Staten Island terminal.  Three weeks into the testing, DNDO officials have put about 5,000 containers through the system.  Once the data is complete, they will then analyze the accuracy of the identification of radioactive material. A GAO report released Monday said Oxford’s office should systematically compile test data on the existing monitors to fully understand their benefits and limitations before making the multibillion dollar investment the deployment plan requires. The report also recommends the office provide state and local authorities with information on radiation detection technologies to help them make more informed purchasing decisions. “We strongly agree with this statement, as the DNDO feels that bolstering preventive [radiological and nuclear] detection capabilities within the domestic interior is an essential part of our nation’s defense,” the detection office wrote in response. Regarding the recommendation to compile testing data, Oxford said, “That’s a prudent thing to do.” He added, however, that “some of that test data we’ve already looked at, and I’m not sure it’s relevant to the decision we’re making.” Even as the office works to enhance the nuclear detection network at the nation’s borders and ports, DNDO officials are enlisting help from outside experts and the intelligence community to probe gaps in the system. In some cases, that includes testing the systems and detectors by having people trying to smuggle real nuclear material.  Tests with mock terrorists have already begun, said Huban Gowadia, the detection office’s assistant director for assessment (see GSN, March 26). Back to top       U.S. Wants Quick North Korean Action on Reactor North Korea should move quickly to meet its obligation under a February agreement to close its Yongbyon nuclear reactor, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said today (see GSN, April 11). Pyongyang has held off on shuttering the plant while it waited for access to $25 million in frozen funds held at the Banco Delta Asia in Macau.  That matter was seemingly resolved this week, Agence France-Presse reported. The deadline for closure set under the Feb. 13 deal is Saturday. “The ball’s in their court,” said Hill, Washington’s chief envoy to the six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear program.  “If they don’t fulfill their obligations we’ll know very soon and we’ll have to deal with that accordingly.” The facility is almost certain not to be fully closed by the deadline, a process which could take weeks, Hill indicated. “The problem we have now is the North Koreans need to make a decision to invite the [International Atomic Energy Agency] in there and start shutting down this reactor and reprocessing facility,” he told CNN.  “We’ve got to get going on that and once we get going we can see how long it’s going to take.” The reactor is believed to have produced between 50 and 60 kilograms of plutonium, which could be used in six to 12 weapons.  Closing the reactor is intended “to prevent that 50-60 kilo from becoming a 100-kilo problem,” Hill said. North Korea sent 20 officials to Macau to retrieve the money, according to the South Korean Chosun Ilbo newspaper. “The 52 North Korean bank accounts have recently been integrated for easy withdrawal, and it will take one or two days for North Korea to have the funds back since the sum is big,” a Macau bank official told the newspaper (Jun Kwanwoo, Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, April 12). The money dispute might not actually be resolved, China indicated today. “We hope the issue of the bank funds can be properly resolved as soon as possible,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang.  “The legitimate and reasonable concerns and interests of all parties should be addressed so we can find a way to properly resolve the issue as soon as possible.” Hill reaffirmed the U.S. belief that the matter is finished, Reuters reported. “Their money is available, so this is no longer about BDA in my opinion,” he said.  “BDA is over” (Reuters/New York Times, April 12). Even if the finance matter is resolved, North Korea should not be expected to rapidly move toward nuclear disarmament, experts told the Christian Science Monitor. “Will North Korea continue to be obstreperous and hold out for payoffs every step of the way to denuclearization?  The answer is absolutely yes,” said Asia expert Ken Lieberthal of the University of Michigan.  “They are very astute at maximizing the benefits from a very weak position, so you can count on it.” He criticized the Bush administration for killing off the Clinton-era Agreed Framework, which was intended to eliminate North Korea’s nuclear program by providing alternative energy sources. “So what we are back to six years later is the Agreed Framework-minus,” he said.  “Instead of enough plutonium for one or two bombs, the North Koreans have now tested a weapon and probably have enough plutonium for eight to 10 more weapons” (LaFranchi/Kirk, Christian Science Monitor, April 12). Back to top       Indian Nuclear Deal in Jeopardy, U.S. Officials Say Difficult Indian demands are endangering the completion of a U.S.-Indian nuclear trade deal, USA Today reported today (see GSN, March 30). Two senior Bush administration officials said India is seeking the freedom to test nuclear weapons and to produce plutonium, two activities the United States wishes to discourage, according to USA Today. U.S. President George W. Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh initially announced the deal in 2005.  Under their outline, the United States would exempt New Delhi from U.S. nuclear nonproliferation laws and provide nuclear material and technology to India.  In exchange, India would place its civilian nuclear sector under international monitoring while keeping its military activities secret. The U.S. Congress approved changes to U.S. nonproliferation laws last year, but the deal remains contingent upon a more detailed implementation agreement now under negotiation between the two nations.  In addition, India must approve a nuclear safeguards plan with the International Atomic Energy Agency and international nuclear export rules must also be modified. The bilateral implementation plan has emerged as the current hurdle for the nuclear deal. “The Indians are being greedy,” said Henry Sokolski, head of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center.  India is seeking to ensure that nuclear trade would continue even if New Delhi tests a nuclear weapon or tries to separate plutonium from U.S.-supplied nuclear reactor fuel, said the two administration officials. Some U.S. officials have even expressed their concerns publicly. Nicholas Burns, the undersecretary of state who supervised negotiations, acknowledged that three rounds of talks with India have produced little. “I don't question India's goodwill,” said he said.  “But there is a fair degree of frustration in Washington that the Indian government has not engaged seriously enough or quickly enough with both the United States and the IAEA.” India’s Atomic Energy Department “may want the deal to fall through” to eliminate potential competition for its nuclear services, said Robert Einhorn of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (Barbara Slavin, USA Today, April 12). Back to top

Terror Strike on Livermore Biolab Could Pose Threat A terror attack on a planned biological defense laboratory at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California could cause the release of dangerous biological agents into the environment, according to a federal study released yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 17, 2006). The Energy Department report identifies the potential for a “suicidal plane crash” or an explosion within the facility to overcome biological material containment systems, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.  However, it says that a terrorist attack is “highly unlikely” to actually produce a biological threat. The Biosafety Level 3 facility would be used to store and research samples of microbes such as anthrax, plague, botulism and Q fever, which have been identified as potential agents of bioterrorism. The laboratory has been completed since 2005, but its opening has been delayed by legal challenges. The report says it is “probable” that a plane crash or bomb explosion would produce flames that would eliminate as many as 1 trillion microorganisms before they could be dispersed into the environment.  Additional protection could come through vaccinations provided within a day to nearby residents. Microbes “are kept in locked freezers when not in use,” the report states.  Motion detectors in laboratories and mechanical rooms would also help prevent theft of materials. Critics were not impressed by the study, the Chronicle reported.  One group reported last year that a pathogen release could kill up to 7,500 people. “They should not build [the laboratory] in the Bay Area,” said Marylia Kelley, head of Tri-Valley CARES.  “Not only is there a risk of terrorist attack or a ‘disgruntled employee’ scenario, but there’s the risk of a large earthquake.” Opponents could seek further court orders against the opening of the facility (Keay Davidson, San Francisco Chronicle, April 12). Back to top       Postal Workers Complain of Cold Anthrax Case U.S. Postal Service workers expressed frustration Tuesday that the FBI investigation into the 2001 anthrax attacks has not resulted in any convictions, The Times of Trenton reported (see GSN, Feb. 23). “We are here for one reason:  for closure and justice,” said Les Cohen, New Jersey branch president of the National Association of Postal Supervisors, speaking a Princeton Borough press conference with U.S. Representative Rush Holt (D-N.J.).  “All I ask is that the FBI do the job and get this taken care of so we can all rest easy.” Anthrax-laden mail killed five and sickened 17 in late 2001.  New Jersey postal facilities processed some of the lethal letters. Holt repeated earlier calls for the FBI to brief Congress on the investigation, requests that have been rejected (see GSN, Dec. 13, 2006). “Three dozen bipartisan members of the House and the Senate have asked for briefings so that we (Congress) can do our oversight role.  Despite all of that, we have been stonewalled,” Holt said (Robert Stern, The Times of Trenton, April 11). Back to top

Russian CW Disposal Site Construction to Move Ahead The United States and Russia have nearly reached the necessary agreements to move ahead with construction of the Shchuchye chemical weapons disposal plant in Siberia, a senior U.S. Defense Department official said yesterday (see GSN, March 1). Washington has allocated roughly $1 billion for the plant intended to eliminate nearly 2 million munitions containing nerve agent, the Associated Press reported.  However, construction has been delayed by a dispute with Moscow over bids submitted by Russian contractors. “Over the past year there were significant problems ensuring that final contract awards could be accomplished transparently for prices that had a reasonable relation to the work proposed to be accomplished,” Joseph Benkert, principal deputy assistant defense secretary for global security affairs, told a Senate subcommittee. “After detailed negotiations, we are now poised to sign an agreement with Russia which will allow us to pull the Shchuchye project across the goal line within the U.S. budget,” he added. Any additional funds needed for the project, which has been estimated to cost as much as $1.5 billion, would come from Russia, Benkert said. U.S. funding has come through the Cooperative Threat Reduction program.  Canada and the United Kingdom have also supported construction of the weapons disposal facility, AP reported (Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, April 11). Back to top       Mustard Leak Found at Pueblo Chemical Depot Workers at the Pueblo Chemical Depot on Tuesday detected a small amount of mustard agent in a storage igloo, the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency said in a press release (see GSN, Aug. 11, 2005). The detection occurred during routine testing conducted before maintenance workers were scheduled to open the structure.  The depot is installing a charcoal filter on the rear vent of the igloo and is maintaining monitoring. The leak posed no threat to workers at the depot, nearby residents or the community, the Army said (U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency release, April 10). Back to top

India Launches Ballistic Missile India announced that it today conducted a successful test launch of its nuclear-capable Agni 3 missile, Reuters reported (see GSN, April 9). The missile has a range of more than 3,000 kilometers, and is intended to offset China’s military might, according to defense analysts. The first test of the ballistic missile failed in July 2006.  Today’s launch from an island off eastern India was “absolutely successful,” said senior Defense Research and Development Organization official W. Selvamurthy. “It took off at 10:50 a.m. (0520 GMT) and landed at 11:05 a.m.,” he told Reuters.  “We are absolutely satisfied with all the results and we have rectified the errors of last year’s failure.  It met all the target coordinates” (Reuters/Yahoo!News, April 12). China noted the launch of the missile, which is capable of reaching Beijing and Shanghai, Agence France-Presse reported. “We hope that India, as a country with an important influence in this region, can work to maintain and promote peace and stability in this region,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang.  “We hope they can make a positive contribution in this regard and play a positive role” (Agence France-Presse/Khaleej Times, April 12). Back to top

Radar Provides Missile Early Warning for Russia A high-tech radar system would provide Russia with early warning of incoming enemy missiles, ITAR-Tass reported yesterday (see GSN, Dec. 7, 2006). The Voronezh radar at Lekhtusi in the Leningrad region “is a sample of a fundamentally new generation of such systems of domestic manufacture,” said Defense Minister Anatoly Serdiukov, according to a press statement.  “It has extremely high combat and operating parameters.” The system requires 15 fewer workers to operate than other radars, and costs 40 percent less to operate and maintain (ITAR-Tass, April 11). Back to top

U.S. Radiation Sensors Tested in Honduras, Pakistan U.S. radiation detection devices are being tested in Honduras and Pakistan as part of a new program to prevent nuclear or radiological material from reaching the United States by halting it at foreign seaports, two U.S. agencies announced yesterday (see GSN, April 11). The $60 million Secure Freight Initiative calls for installation of detection technology and communications equipment at six ports around the world. Equipment testing began last month at Port Qasim in Pakistan and on April 2 in Puerto Cortes, Honduras.  Testing is scheduled for this year at the other four ports — Southampton in the United Kingdom, Salalah in Oman, the Port of Singapore, and the Gamman Terminal at Port Busan in South Korea. “Terrorists and criminals use global shipping networks, and we are deploying multiple layers of advanced technology to counter their tactics,” Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Michael Jackson said in a press release issued by his agency and the National Nuclear Security Administration.  “Secure Freight creates a global nuclear detection network with shippers, carriers and foreign allies, to head off the worst possible form of attack, a nuclear or ‘dirty bomb’ on our soil.” U.S. customs personnel working overseas and the National Targeting Center would almost instantly receive data on scanned cargo heading to the United States.  “The data will be combined with other risk assessment information to improve analysis, targeting and scrutiny of high-risk containers,” the press release states (U.S. Homeland Security Department release, April 11). Back to top

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