Food Safety:  U.S. Announces New Research Funding

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson announced today $5 million in research funding to develop new technologies to improve the safety and security of the U.S. food supply against a terrorist attack (see GSN, July 16).

The funding will be distributed to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for food security research purposes, according to a Health and Human Services press release.  For example, the funding will go toward research to develop new technologies to assess food contamination with biological, chemical and radiological agents.

“We will continue to maximize our efforts to give Americans the most protection possible from deliberate or accidental food risks,” FDA Commissioner Mark McClellan said.  “That includes not only using the best ideas that science has to offer, but seeking out still better ideas and methods,” he said.

In addition, Health and Human Services released a report today describing the department’s progress in improving food security.  For example, the FDA has quintupled the number of inspections conducted on food imports since fiscal 2001 — from 12,000 to 62,000 so far this year.  The FDA has also more than doubled the number of ports of entry where agency inspectors are stationed — from 40 to 90.

“Americans need to feel secure that the food they eat is safe and healthy,” Thompson said.  “We are investing unprecedented time, energy and resources to make sure the food that goes from our nation’s ports and food facilities to our families’ dinner tables is safe.  While we have made significant improvements over the last two years, we are building on our success by working harder to enhance security, including many more food inspections at our borders,” he said (U.S. Health and Human Services release, July 23).

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Radiological Weapons:  NRC Proposes Increased Security for Industrial Gauges

To prevent terrorists from stealing “dirty bomb” materials, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering new security regulations for portable industrial measurement tools that contain small amounts of radioactive material, the commission announced last week in a press release (see GSN, June 17).

The proposed rule would require portable gauge licensees to use at least two independent physical controls to secure gauges whenever they are left unsupervised.  For example, a licensee would be required to secure a gauge by storing it in a locked van and tethering it to the van by a steel cable, according to the release.

Approximately 5,100 portable gauge licenses have either been issued by the NRC or by states that have assumed some of the commission’s regulatory authority, according to the release.  Those states would be required to adopt similar security requirements to be compatible with NRC regulations.

Interested parties will be able to submit comments on the proposed rule for 75 days after a notice on the issue is published in the Federal Register, which is expected shortly (U.S Nuclear Regulatory Commission release, July 17).

NRC staff said in a memo last month that about 50 gauges are reported stolen each year out of the more than 22,000 that are in use.  Since 1990, about 450 gauges have been reported stolen, the staff said.

NRC Commissioner Jeffrey Merrifield has said he believes new action to improve the security of industrial gauges is needed.

“I have been concerned about the number of missing/stolen sources for several years,” Merrifield said in a statement.  “Several states took the initiative to increase security of these devices and I applaud their efforts.  But it is time that NRC took action in this area,” he said (George Lobsenz, Energy Daily, July 22).

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Radiological Weapons:  IAEA Advocates Geological-Based Repositories for Radioactive Waste

By Mike Nartker
Global Security Newswire

The threat of terrorists obtaining radioactive waste for use in a “dirty bomb” makes long-term storage in a geological-based repository a more attractive storage option, according to a report released Friday by the International Atomic Energy Agency (see GSN, July 15).

Currently, radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel is stored in containers housed in aboveground facilities, according to the report, The Long Term Storage of Radioactive Waste: Safety and Sustainability.  A group of experts from 15 countries, however, have advocated that such materials be placed in a geological-based repository, such as that being planned at Yucca Mountain in Nevada, to place them “beyond the reach” of most terrorist groups (see GSN, July 17).

“The material is obviously much more vulnerable to attack if placed on the surface,” the report says.  “In geological disposal facilities, it is beyond the reach of all but the most determined and sophisticated of individuals or groups,” it adds.

Another benefit of a geological-based repository is a “minimal reliance” on active controls to provide long-term security, the report says.  In contrast, many waste storage facilities are located on-site at active nuclear facilities and will require independently operated security measures if the overall site ceases operation, it says.

“Security considerations, which carry increasing weight, lead strongly and unequivocally to disposal being desirable at as early a date as is reasonable,” the report says.

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Nuclear Waste:  Senate and House Disagree on Yucca Mountain Funding

A U.S. Senate Appropriations subcommittee yesterday approved a fiscal 2004 energy and water appropriations bill that contains significantly less funding than its House counterpart for a project to construct a long-term nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada, according to Energy Daily (see GSN, July 9).

The Senate version of the bill, approved by the Energy and Water Development Subcommittee, contains $425 million for the Yucca Mountain project — $166 million less than the Energy Department’s fiscal 2004 request and $32 million less than this year’s funding for the project, Energy Daily reported.  In comparison, the House version of the bill contains $765 million for the project, which is $174 million more than the Energy Department’s request and $308 million more than this year’s funding.

The lower funding in the Senate bill was apparently engineered by Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.), the subcommittee’s top Democrat and an ardent opponent of the Yucca Mountain project, according to Energy Daily.  Reid criticized the House version of the bill Tuesday, saying its allocation for the Yucca Mountain project was “outrageous” and “insulting to Nevadans and all Americans.”

“It is downright hypocritical for the House Republican leadership to talk about fiscal restraint and then pass a Yucca Mountain budget that large,” Reid said.

Subcommittee Chairman Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) said the differences in funding for the Yucca Mountain project in the House and Senate bills will be a “point of contention” when the two houses work on a final version.

“Funding for this project will be a major point of contention in the conference with the House,” Domenici said (George Lobsenz, Energy Daily, July 17).

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