Study: U.S. needs better ways to evaluate radiation detection systems

The U.S. government needs to develop a better way to evaluate the effectiveness of technology to detect nuclear and radiological material at U.S. ports, according to a report commissioned by DHS. Congress and its investigative arm, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), have been skeptical about the department’s testing of such systems. As a result, the department called for an independent audit into its testing. The report by the Homeland Security Institute did not find that the testing has been biased or results manipulated. It did say the department should devise a better process to test and evaluate how effective the machines are.

AP, which obtained the executive summary of the recently completed report, says that the machines are intended to address concerns that a nuclear bomb, hidden in a cargo container, could detonate in an American port. The department plans to spend about $350 million to develop and deploy next generation radiation monitors that will screen cargo, cars, and trucks that come through ports, according to a homeland security official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The most the department can spend on this program is $1.2 billion, but current tests show that these systems can be deployed for far less, the official said. The goal is to purchase about 800 of these next generation monitors called, Advanced Spectroscopic Portals, over the course of the next five years. The monitors are expected to cost about $360,000 each. The portal monitors now in use cost about $82,000 each and can detect the presence of radiation. They cannot distinguish between harmless or dangerous material. Radioactive material can be found naturally in ceramics and kitty litter, for instance.

Lawmakers have questioned whether the new technology offers much improvement over current monitors, but DHS’s testing has found that the next generation monitors, produce much less false positives. The Port of Los Angeles-Long Beach gets 400 to 500 nuclear alarms a day, the official said. The new monitors should reduce that to 40 to 50. About 200 customs officers are assigned at this port to deal with the alarms. The improved detection systems will relieve the burden on the Customs officers, the official said. The 800 monitors will not replace all the existing systems. In some ports, the first generation models will remain in place. The report will be made available to some lawmakers but will not be released publicly. DHS secretary Michael Chertoff is expected to decide whether the next generation equipment significantly improves the nuclear and radiological detection capabilities this fall. He had delayed this decision until after the independent review was completed.