Science Policy
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SCIENCE POLICY Incorporating WASHINGTON NEWS and policy news from around the world.
DHS Initiative Focuses on Nuclear Detection Materials Speaking at a briefing hosted by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Penrose C. (“Parney”) Albright, assistant secretary for science and technology in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), acknowledged that a major issue for the agency has been its lack of a central focus when it comes to “truly apocalyptic” events such as a nuclear bomb or a widespread biological weapons attack. To address this, the Bush administration has launched the $227.3 million Domestic Nuclear Detection Initiative, with a strong focus on developing new materials for detection technologies. The initiative marks a significant expansion of federal efforts to monitor the importing of radioactive materials and a movement around the country. The their
MRS BULLETIN • VOLUME 30 • MAY 2005
Office for Domestic Nuclear Detection would coordinate a growing but fragmented network of radiation detection equipment, administration officials said. More than 400 radiation monitors have been installed in the past two years at ports, border crossings, and post offices that handle international mail. But while detecting radiation in shipping containers or trucks is a simple matter, it is much harder to use that information to deduce the presence of a nuclear weapon or a dirty bomb, a device that contaminates a small area with radioactive material using a conventional explosive. The program would include representatives from the Department of Energy, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the State Department, and the Department of Defense. Specifically, the office would coordinate research into new detection technologies, improve training on how to
use them, and help decide where to place them, administration officials said. It would also track any efforts to smuggle nuclear materials into the United States and set up a system for local authorities to transmit detection alarms instantly to federal response teams. Homeland security is one of the few areas that will see substantial increases in the proposed FY 2006 federal budget, according to Albright, who provided an overview of the FY 2006 budget and future plans for research and development (R&D) within the DHS, which is the fastest-growing R&D sector in the federal budget. The FY 2006 budget request for the DHS Science and Technology Directorate (STD) is about $1.4 billion, a significant increase from three years ago, when the total budget was $640 million. Albright attributed this growth to the interest of Congress and the Bush admin-
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SCIENCE POLICY
istration in science and technology as it applies to homeland security. The largest portion of the STD budget is still the $362.3 million for biological countermeasures, a program that complements similar R&D programs in Health and Human Services, the National Institutes of Health, and the Center for Disease Control. Its focus is on surveillance and detection, specifically, the develo
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