The Department of Homeland Security will continue to lead our government effort against terrorism. Through the DHS Research and Development (R&D) program, interoperable communications, radiological, cybersecurity, and nuclear countermeasures will continue to be funded. Viewed now as a mature R&D funding agency, it could also be a indicator that homeland security is one of the numerous priorities in the federal government that will compete for scarce resources, following many years in which it was a paramount national priority.
A WAR Report essay in March 2006 covered new technologies in securing cargo entering Ports of Entry (POE) around the country. In mid-July 2006, DHS awarded funds for R&D totaling $1.2 billion to enhance port security. Advanced sensors to screen radioactive cargo will be installed at 370 POE and border crossings, fulfilling goals stated within the Spectroscopic Portal Program. Projections stated by Secretary Michael Chertoff included “having close to 90 percent of all containers that come into the US by sea or land screened through radiation portal detection equipment. It is a real, measurable and powerful step forward in protecting this country against the very worst kind of threat that we are all concerned about.”
Funding R&D on this issue has taken the lead over biological terrorism with dramatic increases in budget. Some $180 million was set aside in 2006, and funding is expected to increase to $360 million in 2007. DHS is making cargo safety a real priority. Five years ago, cargo security was not a priority and countermeasures were generally weak. Today, approximately 80% of all cargo entering POE is scanned, and that percentage will increase to about 90% next year.
Personnel securing the POE welcome the new sensors. Since 2002, inspectors have recorded some 318,000 false positives among 80 million pieces of tested cargo. Inspectors must adjust the scanning sensors’ sensitivity to stop disrupting cargo operations. Common substances?bananas, kitty litter, peanut butter, and granite counter tops?often trigger the sensors, forcing the shipment to undergo secondary security screening, which is both expensive and time consuming. The new, advanced sensors will use leading-edge software to distinguish radioactive materials. However, federal officials concede the system will not pick up every radioactive material; lead and plastic can conceal radioactive products.
The new R&D contracts will deploy experimentation into two processes: Sodium-iodide and Germanium. Thermo Electron Company and Raytheon will base their designs on sodium iodide, a white, crystalline salt with chemical formula used in radiation detection. Canberra Industries will utilize Germanium, a shiny gray semimetal. The sodium iodide systems cost about $350,000 per unit, while the Germanium will run about $500,000-$600,000 per unit. Deployment will begin in the New York-New Jersey seaport area and will be added in conjunction with the DOE Megaport program. The program also interfaces with foreign governments to sign on with a Declaration of Principals to initiate container security. Jamaica recently signed on with the program (source).
The DHS radiological and nuclear countermeasures R&D portfolio moved in 2006 to the new Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO), which is directed by Vayl Oxford. DHS recently reclassified the R&D portfolio from initial development to primary research. The agency has ramped to the seventh largest R&D funding agency within DHS. The DNDO began operations with the Science and Technology Directorate but will move to a separate budget line item in 2007. The goal of DNDO is to develop, acquire, and support a domestic system to report and detect terrorist attempts to transport or use radiological or nuclear materials. The office will be staffed with a multi-agency team that will work with the intelligence community to develop new technologies for use in the field. The budget for 2007 has been dramatically increased from $334 million budged in 2006 to $536 million. Procurement costs of nuclear detection devices for US POE will run about $178 million.
But, DHS R&D, after a speedy ramp phase, will be subject like other R&D funding agencies to cuts due to the tight budget facing domestic programs. DHS finished it start-up phase in 2005; the budget advance slowed in 2006, forcing difficult choices and rebalancing choices made from within the R&D portfolio as a shift occurred from some technologies and into others. There will be tough choices down the road to keep funding at the same levels for R&D.
