Radiological Weapons:  Congress Seeks Improved Security Over Radioactive Sources

By Karen Lee Scrivo

CongressDaily

WASHINGTON — People across the globe could be at risk from terrorist attacks with so-called dirty bombs unless more is done to monitor and contain unsecured commercial radioactive sources both in the United States and abroad, warns a Monterey Institute report circulating on Capitol Hill (see GSN, Feb. 28).

Conducted by the Institute’s Center for Nonproliferation Studies, the report focuses on the need for radiological terror prevention.  It calls for better national and international regulation, as well as securing commercial radioactive sources to prevent them from being used to make dirty bombs or radiological dispersal devices (RDDs).

“We need to put up enough barriers so that terrorists can’t get their hands on these materials,” Charles D. Ferguson, one of the report’s authors, told CongressDaily.  Ferguson, the center’s scientist-in-residence, was scheduled to brief members of the House Bipartisan Task Force on Nonproliferation on the issue yesterday.

The report notes that while there have been no dirty-bomb incidents, al-Qaeda is interested in “acquiring the means to unleash radiological terror.”  And after the report’s release in January, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported that the al-Qaeda network has successfully built a crude dirty bomb in Afghanistan.

Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), who brought the report to the attention of his colleagues, says he will reintroduce the Nuclear and Radiological Terrorism Threat Reduction Act (see GSN, Oct. 17, 2002).

The Soviet Union produced hundreds of small nuclear generators, known as radioisotope thermal generators (RTGs) to supply power to remote locations, Lugar said.

“These RTGs are considered very dangerous because they hold nuclear material that might be used in a radiological weapon, or a ‘dirty bomb,’” Lugar said in a press release.  “The Russian government does not have an accurate accounting of where all the generators are located.  We must find these units, secure them and remove the dangerous materials” (see GSN, Oct. 23, 2002).

Lugar first introduced the bill last October with Ranking Member Joseph Biden, D-Del., who was then committee chairman.  It would:

*         provide five temporary facilities for radioactive storage;

*         accelerate discovery, inventory and recovery of unwanted radioactive material;

*         replace former Soviet lighthouses, weather stations and other facilities using RTGs;

*         provide training for radiological emergencies;

*         require a global radiological threat assessment;

*         develop nonradioactive alternatives to radiological uses; and

*         appoint a special representative to coordinate U.S. efforts.

Several lawmakers, including Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), have introduced bills seeking to ensure that radioactive material in the United States doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.  Clinton’s bill, which is co-sponsored by Senator Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), calls for the creation of a Nuclear Regulatory Commission task force to prevent a dirty-bomb attack in the United States.  Representative Ed Markey (D-Mass.) is sponsoring a similar bill on the House side.

The bill’s supporters note that radioactive material that could be used to make a dirty bomb is fairly widespread — it’s found in hospitals, research laboratories, food irradiation plants, oil drilling facilities and airport runway lighting.

The lawmakers want the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to oversee a classification and tracking system for the recovery and storage of unused radioactive sources.  The NRC reports that among the 375 sources that are lost or stolen each year, 60 percent have yet to be recovered.  The International Atomic Energy Agency has said that more than 100 nations have inadequate control and monitoring programs to prevent or detect the theft of these materials.

“Radioactive material that could be used in a dirty bomb exists in thousands of research institutions and industrial facilities around the United States,” Clinton said last month at a press conference announcing the bill.  “We must do more to make sure it’s not stolen or lost, because the consequences if it falls into the wrong hands are unthinkable.”

The current system of radioactive source control is based on radiation safety applications, not national security, Gregg said, adding that while much has been done to prevent bioterrorism, the nation remains vulnerable to radiological terrorism.

“As Sept. 11, 2001 tragically demonstrated, terrorists will use any weapon at their disposal to create terror and kill Americans, and although the human casualties of a radiological attack are far less than that of conventional weapons of mass destruction, the psychological and economic impact can be enormous,” Gregg said.

Markey added, “FedEx and Lands’ End seem to do a better job of tracking clothing purchases than the NRC does at tracking radioactive materials.”

In addition to the Clinton-Gregg and Markey bills, Senator Mary Landrieu (D-La.) is sponsoring legislation that calls for a radioactive detection system demonstration project for the nation’s seaports.  And a section in Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle’s (D-S.D.) Homeland Security Act deals with radioactive material.

Ferguson of the Center for Nonproliferation Studies says the Lugar, Clinton and Landrieu bills are part of what’s needed — along with stringent export controls on radioactive materials.  “It’s not that government isn’t doing something, it just has to prioritize this,” he said.

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