Posted on 01/28/2006 8:32:46 AM PST by Daralundy
Homeland Security Uses Nevada Site to Test Machines That Detect Nuclear Devices, 'Dirty Bombs'
NEVADA TEST SITE, Nev. - The scientists stood waiting for a read-out from a hand-held Geiger counter-type machine placed next to a large corrugated metal shipping container. During the test at the Radiological-Nuclear Countermeasures Test and Evaluation Complex in the Nevada desert, the equipment failed to identify the plutonium in the container. On a second try, it worked.
Beyond the checkpoints, fences and armed guards, Homeland Security scientists here are working on a $33 million program to perfect devices that can more accurately detect nuclear devices and "dirty bombs."
"If we're not going forward with an investment in this type of technology, we could very easily miss an opportunity to defeat a terrorist with a dirty bomb or a radiological device," said Rep. Jim Gibbons, a member of the House Subcommittee on Prevention of Nuclear and Biological Attacks, who recently toured the site.
The program, a division of the federal Homeland Security Department, was created under a presidential order to refine methods to protect the nation from radiological and nuclear threats.
The test site is a stone's throw from an ultra-secure bunker in the desert, where the nation's nuclear weapons are assembled. It is surrounded by barren mountains, spiky yucca trees and craters left from decades of nuclear weapons tests about 75 miles north of Las Vegas.
The place provides an opportunity for scientists to test for nuclear material, including weapons-grade plutonium, in secure and controlled conditions.
Some of the monitors now used to identify such material do not always work, said Vayl Oxford, director of the federal Domestic Nuclear Detection Office.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
I always thought my cats were odd.
Thanks for finally shedding some light on "stuned" and "beeber". I've been wondering for years what those were all about.
For fans of Google Earth, the Nevada Test Site is an extremely interesting location to visit. You can see hundreds of atomic test craters, and there are even some KMZ files out there in Google Community that document each and every crater at the site (test date, kilotonnage, name of test, etc).
Even more interesting, it's just west of the infamous (and greatly overblown) Area 51, for which there's also a ton of KMZ info.
Happy GE'ing!
"The test site is a stone's throw from an ultra-secure bunker in the desert, where the nation's nuclear weapons are assembled."
It seems to me that if they are assembling Nuclear weapons, you don't want to be throwing any stones.
I forgot to mention, last year after a stress test (and two days before a cross country flight), my doctor did indeed provide me with a medical affidavit that stated I'd been injected with a radioactive substance.
I was to provide this to law enforcement should I set off any airport sensors. So apparently some form of the detection equipment is out there.
The subsidence craters and Sedan Crater are best viewed in at sunrise from Ranier Mesa. Don't ask me how I know this.
Sedan Crater is the huge one at the northern end, yes?
I have read some accounts of folks flying around there in private planes, would have thought it was restricted.
Yep, that's the one. I did some work there in the past. Very cool place.
The Sedan Crater is AWESOME! My favorite place - don't ask me how I know this. :))
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.