New York to get nuke detectors

New York City is about to become a laboratory to test ways of strengthening the nation8217;s defences against a terror attack by a nuclear device or a radioactive 8220;dirty bomb8221;.

New York City is about to become a laboratory to test ways of strengthening the nation8217;s defences against a terror attack by a nuclear device or a radioactive 8220;dirty bomb8221;. Starting this spring, the Bush administration will assess new detection machines at a Staten Island port terminal that are designed to screen cargo and automatically distinguish between naturally occurring radiation and critical bomb-building ingredients.

And later this year, the federal government plans to begin setting up an elaborate network of radiation alarms at some bridges, tunnels, roadways and waterways into New York, creating a 50-mile circle around the city. The effort, which could be expanded to other cities if proven successful, is a major shift of focus for the Department of Homeland Security.

As it finishes installing the radiation scanners at the nation8217;s ports and land border crossings, the department is trying to find ways to stop a plot that would use a weapon built in the United States. 8220;How do you create deterrence against terrorism?8221; said Vayl S Oxford, director of the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, the Homeland Security agency coordinating the work. 8220;You complicate the ability for the terrorist to do what they want.8221;

But even as the new campaign begins, some members of Congress and anti-terrorism experts are raising concerns that the initiative, like previous Homeland Security programmes, could prove extraordinarily costly and provide few security gains.

The Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, among the agencies at Homeland Security, was established in April 2005, in response to criticism that efforts to combat nuclear terrorism were disorganised.

The office focuses on blocking two types of plots: a nuclear weapon or a dirty bomb. A nuclear attack by terrorists is considered unlikely, because of the difficulty of obtaining the required radioactive materials, like highly enriched uranium. The detonation of a 8220;dirty bomb8221; is considered much more feasible. It only requires dynamite or another conventional explosive to detonate a widely available radioactive source, like the cesium or cobalt in certain medical devices.

The Securing the Cities detection network, as the New York experiment is called, is intended to stop a nuclear or radiological threat as far away from a city as possible. 8220;Detecting it in the core of Manhattan is too late,8221; Oxford said.

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The network would most likely include truck inspection stations along highways approaching New York, which would be equipped with radiation detection devices, agency budget documents say. Devices might also be installed at highway tollbooths and at spots where rail, boat and subway traffic could be monitored.

8211;ERIC LIPTON