After the 911 terrorist attacks, the Department of Homeland Security was formed to prevent future attacks on domestic soil. The ongoing threat, of course, is the possibility of a nuclear attack by a terrorist group. The Department of Homeland Security has considered such possible scenarios. If any terrorist organization seized materials to manufacture a nuclear weapon, the Department of Homeland Security must have measures in place to counter such a threat to domestic security. Technology evolves rapidly, and the DHS has stayed abreast of changes, in order to prevent such a scenario from playing out.
The DHS is very focused on detecting weapons with nuclear capabilities, and materiel that can be made into nuclear weapons. According to its website (DHS, 2016), so-called “nuclear detection and forensics missions” are a cornerstone of the agency’s counterterrorism efforts. Furthermore, the Global Nuclear Detection Architecture (GNDA) serves to collect and provide specific data about nuclear (and other radioactive materials) that are not within the scope of regulation by the federal government (DHS, 2016). Thus, the DHS has protocols in place to prevent and manage an attack by a terrorist organization – whether or not it is sponsored by a state. Moreover, the DHS uses both non-technical and technical methods to perform the tasks of the GNDA (DHS, 2016).
While the GNDA provides an excellent crisis prevention and management plan in the event of a terrorist nuclear weapons plot, the DHS also has portable devices on the ground that assist in detection (via technical means) of devices with nuclear or radioactive potential. For example, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has been assisted by the DHS to dispatch radiation portal monitors to various parts of the globe to scan ship cargo, automobiles, mail, and other portals of entry which could contain nuclear devices (DHS, 2016). These efforts cover a full 100 percent of ports of entry via land, and about 99 percent of sea portals (DHS, 2016). Thus, the DHS has become a very reliable means of detecting nuclear devices on American soil, but at key ports of entry around the world.
Ensuring the security of major American cities – especially considering the 911 Twin Towers attacks in New York City – is another priority of the DHS. For example, the Securing the Cities (STC) initiative has trained more than 19,000 personnel in New York City alone, and has also funded and supplied nearly 9,000 radiological detection devices to trained and qualified personnel in the relentless task of counterterrorism. In 2012, the program grew to help secure the Los Angeles/Long Beach area, and, in 2014, the program expanded to Washington, D.C. and environs. Serious efforts have been undertaken to prevent another terrorist attack of the magnitude of the 911 tragedy.
In addition, the DHS is being funded to implement even more advanced technology for the early detection of radiological weapons and/or materials. These advanced technologies have been designed to perform better in a diversity of environments – from sea to desert, and everything in between (DHS, 2016). Not only does the DHS mention improve detection and accuracy, but also adds that the transmission of so-called “alarm-events” will greatly improve, thereby decreasing the odds of a nuclear-related terrorist event (DHS, 2016).
References
United States Department of Homeland Security. (2016). Retrieved 16 Jun, 2016 from https://www.dhs.gov/advancing-nuclear-detection-technologies
