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Dirty Bomb - Steal or Explode in place ?
Over the past decade hospitals and healthcare treatment and research organizations have not been able to account for 4,363 radioactive sources which have been lost, stolen or abandoned across the nation. (abc News: Nuclear waste piles up at hospitals).
When it comes to “dirty bomb” concerns, it makes little difference whether it is lost, stolen or abandoned; they are all potential sources of terrorist’s death and destruction.
Update on previous post, mid-September 2009. Testimony before a House Homeland Security Subcommittee field briefing in Brooklyn NY the Associate Deputy Administrator for Global Threat Reduction, National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) revealed details of progress made in the Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI). The good news is that approximately 40 sites have been hardened and the bad news is that the remaining 880 sites are on line for hardening by 2016.
We do not think that this information should be characterized as a progress report, to us it appears that these acts of ommision on the part of hospitals, legislators and responsible agencies, are nothing short of gross negligence.. The National Nuclear Security Administration was established by Congress prior to 9/11. The hardening devices (In-Device Delay (IDD) hardening kits “make it order of magnitude more difficult” to steal. That means that Red Teams which today can do that in 2 minutes may require xxx minutes in the future. Terrorists may find it too much of an effort and simply explode the containers in place with similar consequences to the facility and environment.
The Hardening of dangerous Cesium 137 sites at non-federal hospitals and healthcare facilities, Is Voluntary.
Many experts concerned with Public health and welfare of a trusting public, ask their elected officials, at all levels of government, for an accounting for those abandoned medical sources of killer radiation before and after recent natural disasters.
We listen closely to the endless debate over healthcare reform and the now high profile of the Senate “markup” waiting for some hopeful sign that the assembled “Sagacious Senators” or their “Enlightened Staff” stumble onto the healthcare issues surrounding “dirty Bombs” threats. This issue is not even on the radar for health reform.
Who would possibly “lobby” for unsafe healthcare workplaces?
Jim
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