NNSA, DTRA partner on nuclear research

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- A deal was signed by two U.S. government agencies Wednesday to conduct new research on the effects of a dirty-bomb explosion in the United States.

The Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration and the Defense Department's Defense Threat Reduction Agency have agreed to partner on a nuclear research project addressing ongoing security challenges in the United States, the NNSA reported.

Officials say chief among the research objectives between the NNSA and the DTRA is to study the likely fallout if a terrorist detonated a nuclear device in the United States.

"NNSA and DTRA have a history of working together to solve nuclear security challenges of a post-Cold War and post-9/11 world," Thomas D'Agostino, NNSA administrator, said in a statement.

"This agreement formalizes and strengthens this relationship. As we move forward on this and other similar agreements, I look forward to using NNSA's science, technology and engineering enterprise to solve the urgent nuclear security challenges of today and tomorrow."

The agreement is also part of a new direction for the NNSA's laboratories: recognizing the evolving challenges of combating terrorism and nuclear proliferation.