Homeland Security and Energy department leaders urge cities vulnerable to terrorism to undergo an inventory of all radioactive material within city limits, so authorities can detect "dirty bombs" terrorists might plant.
Beset by delays, cost overruns and technical problems, the U.S. government's quest to defend the nation against a smuggled nuclear weapon or radiological "dirty" bomb is approaching a crossroads.
The US is set to begin deploying a new generation of radiation detectors intended to be America's "last line of defense" against weapons of mass destruction.
A smart phone that can detect radiation may soon be helping the police to find the raw materials for radioactive ?dirty bombs? before they are deployed. The phones will glean data as the officers carrying them go about their daily business, and the information will be used to draw up maps of radiation that will expose illicit stores of nuclear material.
In preparation for a terrorist attack, federal scientists have installed sensors to map wind currents in downtown Washington, Arlington and Silver Spring, the first deployment of a high-tech network to help predict the airborne path of a chemical, biological or radioactive release.