WASHINGTON, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- America's borders and ports remain fairly porous when it comes to spotting attempts to smuggle nuclear weapons or materials, witnesses told a House hearing Thursday.
The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations reviewed the U.S. Customs Service's post-Sept. 11 efforts to deploy radiation detectors. Problems with the deployment take on added importance with North Korea admitting to its nuclear weapons program, said Rep. James Greenwood, R-Pa, subcommittee chairman.
"Although the administration has acknowledged the deficiencies uncovered by this committee, little concrete progress has been made in eliminating holes in our system, despite the intervention of the Office of Homeland Security," Greenwood said. "We cannot let 401 more days go by before we significantly reduce the threat of nuclear terrorism."
Several committee members noted uncertainties regarding which agency or official is leading the effort.
The Customs Service does an admirable job in its other roles, said Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., but it seems unrealistic to expect the agency to handle this additional anti-nuclear task without committed support and guidance from the White House.
Energy Department-installed detection systems in Russia have spotted more than 250 instances of radioactive materials, so a lack of detectors within our borders is troubling, said Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla.
Customs Service Commissioner Robert Bonner took exception to the perceived lack of focus in the anti-nuclear efforts. The agency already has done a great deal of work at northern ports of entry and express-mail facilities, he told the committee.
"An important part of our strategy to address the nuclear and radiological threat is pushing our zone of security outward," Bonner said, "American ports of entry are the last line of defense, not the first line of defense against this threat."
Customs programs with cargo companies and foreign governments identify and search high-risk containers before shipments occur, Bonner said. The agency also helps train and equip its overseas counterparts to deal with nuclear materials, he said.
"At the border, we use various technologies in different combinations to substantially increase the likelihood that nuclear or radiological materials will be detected," Bonner told the committee.
The agency has deployed about 300 large- and medium-sized detectors to seaports and border crossings, Bonner said, and more units are on the way. Customs purchased 172 portal detectors of the kind used successfully in Russia and is waiting for the first 40 to arrive, he said. Agency officials also are wearing personal radiation detectors as part of the effort, he said.
The pager-like personal devices, however, are more for safety than anything else, said Gary Jones, director of natural resources and environment at the General Accounting Office.
"The pagers have a limited range and are not designed to detect weapons-usable nuclear material," Jones told the committee. "We remain concerned that no comprehensive plan is in place for installing and using radiation detection equipment at all U.S. border crossings."
The Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration is training some Customs personnel, said Linton Brooks, the NNSA's acting administrator. The NNSA also is expanding its overseas programs into the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan and Ukraine.
The Defense Department's Defense Threat Reduction Agency is aiding the Customs Service, said Stephen Younger, DTRA director. For example, the first of four testbeds for detecting and responding to nuclear materials is up and running at Kirkland Air Force Base in New Mexico. While a "leak-proof" border security system is unlikely, the programs underway will greatly improve detection efforts, Younger said.
The committee later moved into closed session to question the witnesses in a more detailed manner. The discussion was expected to include an analysis of several seaport security audits by Jeffery Rush, the Treasury Department's inspector general.
