Summary
The Department of Energy (DOE) maintains an emergency response capability to quickly respond to potential nuclear and radiological threats in the United States. This capability has taken on increased significance after the attacks of September 11, 2001, because there is heightened concern that terrorists may try to detonate a nuclear or radiological device in a major U.S. city. This report discusses (1) the capabilities and assets DOE has to prevent and respond to potential nuclear and radiological attacks in the United States, (2) the physical security measures in place at DOE's two key emergency response facilities and whether they are consistent with DOE guidance, and (3) the benefits of using DOE's aerial background radiation surveys to enhance emergency response capabilities.
DOE has unique capabilities and assets to prevent and respond to a nuclear or radiological attack in the United States. These include specialized teams to search for, locate, and deactivate nuclear or radiological devices and to help manage the consequences of a nuclear or radiological attack. These capabilities are primarily found at DOE's two key emergency response facilities--the Remote Sensing Laboratories at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, and Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. DOE's two Remote Sensing Laboratories are protected at the lowest level of physical security allowed by DOE guidance because, according to DOE, capabilities and assets to prevent and respond to nuclear and radiological emergencies have been dispersed across the country and are not concentrated at the laboratories. However, we found a number of critical capabilities and assets that exist only at the Remote Sensing Laboratories and whose loss would significantly hamper DOE's ability to quickly prevent and respond to a nuclear or radiological emergency. These capabilities include the most highly trained teams for minimizing the consequences of a nuclear or radiological attack and the only helicopters and planes that can readily help locate nuclear or radiological devices or measure contamination levels after a radiological attack. Because these capabilities and assets have not been fully dispersed, current physical security measures may not be sufficient for protecting the facilities against a terrorist attack. There are significant benefits to conducting aerial background radiation surveys of U.S. cities. Specifically, the surveys can be used to compare changes in radiation levels to (1) help detect radiological threats in U.S. cities more quickly and (2) measure contamination levels after a radiological attack to assist in and reduce the costs of cleanup efforts. Despite the benefits, only one major city has been surveyed. Neither DOE nor the Department of Homeland Security has mission responsibility for conducting these surveys, and there are no plans to conduct additional surveys.
Recommendations
Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change
from "In process" to "Implemented" or "Not implemented" based on our follow up work.
Director:
Team:
Phone:
Eugene E. Aloise
Government Accountability Office: Natural Resources and Environment
(202) 512-6870
Recommendations for Executive Action
Recommendation: To better ensure that all capabilities and assets are available and used to prevent or minimize the consequence of a nuclear or radiological attack, the Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), who implements the emergency response program within DOE, should review the physical security measures at the Remote Sensing Laboratories and determine whether additional measures should be taken to protect the facilities against a loss of critical emergency response capabilities or whether it is more cost-effective to fully disperse its capabilities and assets to multiple areas of the country.
Agency Affected: Department of Homeland Security
Status: In process
Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Recommendation: To better ensure that all capabilities and assets are available and used to prevent or minimize the consequence of a nuclear or radiological attack, the Administrator of NNSA and the Secretary of Homeland Security should evaluate the costs, benefits, and limitations of conducting aerial background radiation surveys of metropolitan areas, especially those that are considered to be most at risk of a terrorist attack; determine whether they would help prevent and respond to a nuclear or radiological attack; and report the results to the Congress.
Agency Affected: Department of Homeland Security
Status: In process
Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Agency Affected: Department of Energy: National Nuclear Security Administration
Status: In process
Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Recommendation: To better ensure that all capabilities and assets are available and used to prevent or minimize the consequence of a nuclear or radiological attack, if the Administrator of NNSA and the Secretary of Homeland Security determine that the surveys would help prevent and respond to a nuclear or radiological attack, the Secretaries should work together to develop a strategy for making greater use of the aerial surveys. In developing this strategy, the Secretary of Homeland Security should consider (1) the costs and benefits of funding these surveys through its existing grant program for state and local governments or through other means and (2) ways to inform state and local government officials about the benefits and limitations of aerial background radiation surveys so that these government officials can make their own decision about whether they would benefit from the surveys.
Agency Affected: Department of Homeland Security
Status: In process
Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Agency Affected: Department of Energy: National Nuclear Security Administration
Status: In process
Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
