New Test Site mission


Message posted by Hank on June 09, 2004 at 6:31:16 PST:

Test site gets new security mission

Government plans training to prevent nuclear smuggling

By STEVE TETREAULT
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU


WASHINGTON -- The government is preparing sites in the Nevada desert to build mock border stations, a simulated airline inspection terminal and a seaport -- without the water -- to train agents how to spot nuclear materials being smuggled into the country.

As part of a new role in border protection, planners envision the Nevada Test Site as home to a test area where new generations of radiological sensors could be run through sophisticated evaluations.

Test site contractors expect to break ground in the fall on the new homeland security mission, officials said Tuesday.

The effort underscores an expanding homeland security role for the test site beyond its historical mission of developing and evaluating the nuclear weapons stockpile.

Instructors on the range have trained thousands of counterterrorism specialists and rescue personnel in weapons response programs that have grown since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington.

"I view this as a perfect match for the unique capabilities of the Nevada Test Site," Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said in a statement.

The effort illustrates the government's concerns about tightening the nation's points of entry against terrorists trying to spirit dirty bombs and radiological weapons past border controls.

The Department of Homeland Security has allocated $13 million this year to design eight or more training venues at the test site, such as a realistic border crossing with three to five traffic lanes and inspection booths, according to an assessment completed last month.

Another venue would re-create parts of an international airport terminal where mail, cargo and baggage would be inspected and arriving passengers screened.

Details of the project are contained in a draft environmental assessment made public in the past week by the National Nuclear Security Administration, which manages the test site.

For the simulated seaport, planners envision placement of "a freighter type ship in some shape or form," said Darwin Morgan, an agency spokesman.

"It can be in partial pieces or a replica, but it would be enough of a ship to do gantry-type operations," Morgan said.

One of the goals is to develop powerful sensing equipment to detect radiological materials smugglers might hide deep inside giant containers of cargo, he said.

About $60 million has been budgeted over the next five years, Morgan said. Some facilities are expected to be operational by next summer, while construction on other segments will continue to 2007, he said.

"What this does is gives us the actual facilities where people are looking for weapons of mass destruction or illicit radioactive material you might find at border crossings and seaports," Morgan said.

About 100 acres have been set aside in Area 6, in the east-central section of the test site about 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The acreage is north of Barren Wash and south of the Device Assembly Facility, a bunker where radiological devices used in testing and training can be stored, Morgan said.

A project report said up to 110 pounds of radioactive plutonium and highly enriched uranium would be used, with amounts "expected to be used on a frequent basis, perhaps daily during certain operational campaigns."

Morgan said that is a substantial amount of radiological material, "but if you are talking about what we are trying to do here, you would want a realistic amount of material."

Plans call for construction of test bays and specially outfitted stretches of road track, the agency report said. Technicians plan to evaluate sensors built into the roadways that might detect radiological sources within vehicles speeding above.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Advertisement

Featured Jobs



Replies:



[ Discussion Forum Index ] [ FAQ ]