The U.S. Homeland Security Department initiated a number of programs to prevent and prepare for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear terrorism as it implemented the Sept. 11 commission's 2004 security recommendations, the agency said in a report Wednesday (see GSN, Feb. 2).
In line with the commission's call to improve cargo screening, Customs and Border Protection placed 1,200 radiation portal monitors and additional scanners at seaports, mail processing centers and border crossings. The equipment scans 98 percent of all incoming cargo as well as 98 percent of trucks and other vehicles entering the United States from Canada. All vehicles entering the country at southern border crossings now undergo scanning, according to the report.
The department's Container Security Initiative has deployed equipment at 58 ports around the world to help scan U.S.-bound cargo for weapons materials, the report notes. The Secure Freight Initiative, meanwhile, has begun scanning cargo at five sites for potential nuclear-weapon materials (see GSN, June 29).
In an effort to bolster the nation's maritime transportation security, the U.S. Coast Guard four years ago began pursuing new methods of intercepting potential WMD hazards. All Coast Guard crews now carry radiation-scanning technology, and personnel receive training in boarding and searching ships for radioactive materials.
The 4-year-old Domestic Nuclear Detection Office has begun more than 200 research and development initiatives aimed at developing new radiation detection capabilities in conjunction with other government agencies and private-sector entities. More than 7,000 emergency responders and state and local police have had access to DNDO nuclear detection training, the report adds.
Following the Sept. 11 panel's recommendation to assign homeland security grants based on threat levels, the department assigned $861 million in fiscal 2009 for the State Homeland Security Program; $799 million for the Urban Areas Security Initiative, with more than half of the money going to the top seven risk areas; and $49 million for the Interoperable Emergency Communications Grant Program (see GSN, Nov. 6, 2008). The Port and Transit Security Grant Programs received $777 million from the department and $300 million in additional funds through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
To evaluate and address vulnerabilities of the nation's infrastructure, the department established the National Infrastructure Protection Plan. In fiscal 2009, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced $49 million in grant funds for the Buffer Zone Protection Program, nearly $12 million for the Intercity Bus Security Grant Program and more than $2 million for the Trucking Security Program.
Napolitano is expected to discuss her department's response to the commission's recommendations during a meeting today with the National Security Preparedness Group, a bipartisan panel that includes former Sept. 11 commission Chairman Thomas Kean and Vice Chairman Lee Hamilton, along with former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge (U.S. Homeland Security Department release, July 22).