Highlights
– New DHS initiative targets radiological devices
– Will provide enhanced tracking and enforcement capabilities for law enforcement
– Innovation is needed to meet future threats
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has launched an initiative addressing the threat of a nuclear or radiological “dirty bomb” targeting US cities. The initiative, titled, “Securing the Cities,” will seek to equip 200 police departments within 45 miles of Manhattan, with varying radiation detection equipment. As such, more than 120 portable radiation detectors have already been distributed to New Jersey State Police troopers. Roughly 100 more radiation detectors will be distributed to police departments in seven other North Jersey counties including Bergen County.
In addition to equipping federal and state law enforcement officers, the project also calls on local police officers to utilize the equipment for potential materials smuggled through smaller neighborhoods.
While DHS has not warned of a specific plot involving “dirty bombs,” the initiative is a crucial step towards reducing the likelihood of such an attack.
Fighting Terrorism with “RadEyes” and “Portals”
DHS’ Domestic Nuclear Detection Office has already distributed around 120 portable radiation detectors, called “RadEyes,” to New Jersey state troopers. State troopers recently showed the equipment’s capabilities, when police left a small and harmless trace of radioactive material in a test car. The demonstrators stood in a line and aimed each detector at the car traveling by at 30 miles per hour. Each radiation detector beeped as the car drove by.
Also part of the initiative, radiation detection “portals” or “gateways” will be designed for commuter traffic routes, highway tollbooths and truck weighing stations. City and state officials are still in the process of designating which areas would provide authorities the best chance to seize a radiological device once detected.
August Incident Highlights Threat Potential
On August 10, 2007, an unverified source posted a claim on an Israeli website, www.debka.com, suggesting that an al-Qaeda video indicated trucks with radioactive material would be detonated in New York City, Los Angeles, and Miami. After evaluating the threat, DHS maintained that there was no credible evidence indicating a real threat to the homeland. However, on a precautionary measure, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) deployed units, vehicles, boats and helicopters all equipped with radiological sensors across the city to monitor for a potential threat.
Al-Qaeda’s Pursuit of Dangerous Materials
Acquiring, developing and using a chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN) weapon remains a key goal of al-Qaeda.
• August 4, 2004: Al Qaeda operative Dhiren Barot devised a plot to bomb Washington DC, New York City and New Jersey. Several bombing devices were to be detonated in limousines with a dirty radiation device (Previous Report).
• May 6, 2004: Ukraine security forces arrested several suspects and seized two containers of some 375 pounds of radioactive material, called cesium-137, that could have been used to build a dirty bomb . From 1994-2005, US authorities spent US$ 178 million on radiation detection equipment for 36 countries, many of them former Soviet Republics. However, several unguarded sources of dangerous materials in the Soviet Republics along with stockpiles of uranium, censium-137, and strontium-90 having been unaccounted for highlights the remaining threat. (Source)
• In 2002, the arrests of US citizen Jose Padilla and Abu Zubaydah, a senior al-Qaeda commander, highlighted al-Qaeda’s intention to construct a dirty bomb. US authorities claimed that Padilla was asked to go to Pakistan, where he then learned how to construct a dirty bomb and allegedly met several other al-Qaeda members (Previous Report).
• In 1993, Osama bin Laden offered $1.5 million to buy uranium for a nuclear device, according to Federal Court Testimony (Source).
• In Afghanistan, al-Qaeda’s training camps aggressively pursued the development of anthrax, specifically in Kandahar (Source). Prior to 9/11, operatives at al-Qaeda’s Derunta training camp located near the Afghan city of Jalalabad were engaged in efforts to produce ricin, castor oil, and other chemical warfare agents (Source).
• Al-Qaeda has widely disseminated instructions on how to construct an improvised chemical weapon using common materials.
DHS Tri-State Initiative a Model for Rest of the Country
While al-Qaeda has tried to acquire materials for a CBRN attack, a radioactive dirty bomb attack is the most likely method of attack within their current capabilities. As a result, the DHS initiative will be an important step to finding, tracking and reducing this threat. Such innovation is necessary and essential to meeting future threats. The initiative will also likely be a precursor for similar programs across the country.
