National Technical Nuclear Forensics CRMs

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is committed to using cutting-edge technologies and scientific talent in its quest to make America safer.  

The National Technical Nuclear Forensics Center (NTNFC), housed in the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO), is tasked with researching and organizing the scientific, engineering, and technological resources within the Departments of Defense (DoD), Energy (DOE) and Justice (DOJ) and leveraging these existing resources into technological tools to help protect the homeland.  Additionally, the NTNFC is mandated to enhance the U.S. Government’s knowledge and capabilities regarding the forensic examination of pre-detonation radiological and nuclear materials.  This materials forensics program supports Homeland Security through the development and maintenance of an enduring national capability to conduct comprehensive, accurate, and timely forensic analysis of those materials.  The National Technical Nuclear Forensics (NTNF) Center has established one of its mission areas as Pre-detonation Materials Capability Development with a subunit for Reference Standards.  A major achievement was the certification of the Peruvian Soil-II overspiked with ⁶⁰Co, ⁹⁰Sr, ¹³³Ba, ¹³⁷Cs, ¹⁵²Eu, ¹⁵⁴Eu, ¹⁵⁵Eu, ²¹⁰Pb, ²²⁶Ra, ²³⁰Th, ²³⁷Np, ²³⁴U, ²³⁵U, ²³⁸U, ²³⁸Pu, ²³⁹Pu, ²⁴⁰Pu, ²⁴¹Am, ²⁴³Cm for nuclear forensics methods development, validation and performance evaluation.