Andrews Teams Practice Radiation Screening
If you plan to fly your general
aviation aircraft to the United States from a foreign country,
don't be surprised to see agents walking up to your plane with
rather large Geiger counters.
USA Today reports teams at Andrews Air Force Base are working to
perfect radiological testing procedures for aircraft, ranging in
size from small piston twins to large jets. Agents with the
Department of Homeland Security are perfecting ways to scan for
radiation emanating from a possible nuclear weapon, or material
that might be used to make one, stowed onboard an aircraft.
The four-month, $4 million test program, managed by the
department's Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO,) has seen
agents test radiation screening procedures on a DC-9 and a
Gulfstream bizjet, among other aircraft.
It's all in an effort to address concerns of terrorists
bypassing "the traditional ports of entry" to smuggle in weapons of
mass destruction, says DNDO chief Vayl Oxford. The stepped-up tests
com after DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff ordered all general
aviation planes coming from overseas to be screened upon entering
the United States, saying such a possibility is a "very real
threat."
Security expert Randall Larsen, former professor with the
National War College, disagrees. "Scanning in the United States
doesn't help" Larsen notes, as a terrorist could always simply
detonate a nuclear device overhead. "It's not the best return on
investment for preventing a mushroom cloud over an American
city."
Efforts are also hampered by the equipment now available to
Customs and Border Protection agents. When they began screening
efforts earlier this year at 105 smaller airports, they only had
shoebox-sized detectors used most often to scan cargo containers.
Not only are those devices heavy, there's also some question of how
effective they are in detecting small amounts of elements like
depleted uranium, barium-133 or cobalt-57, hidden in a seatback or
a cargo compartment.
Current procedures call for two agents to scan planes
inch-by-inch, searching for traces of radioactive substances. The
team at Andrews is working to perfect the process.
Oxford agrees with Larsen, that the best place to scan planes
for radioactive elements or explosives is off of US soil. He notes
Homeland Security also has similar exercises set up in Ireland, and
the Caribbean. A test program is also underway in Anchorage,
AK.
It could take years to iron out agreements with foreign
governments to allow US agents to scan planes inbound for the US,
however... and Oxford says he's most interested in how DHS can
"close the front door" to terrorists in the meantime.