Lawmakers advocate dirty bomb attack preparedness

U.S. Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, is advocating Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) preparedness for a potential domestic dirty bomb attack.

Thompson recently released findings from a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, Preventing a Dirty Bomb: Vulnerabilities Persist in NRC’s Controls for Purchases of High-Risk Radioactive Material, regarding the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) effectiveness in overseeing radiological materials purchases.

“While we have spent more than two decades since the September 11 attacks improving our homeland security infrastructure to protect the country from terrorist threats, it is concerning that security gaps remain that could leave the country vulnerable to a dirty bomb,” Thompson said. “Just recently, racially and ethnically motivated extremists groups have advocated for a dirty bomb attack on the homeland. Such an attack would have a severe socioeconomic impact on the country and possibly result in significant loss of life.”

The GAO determined vulnerabilities within the NRC’s procedures verifying legitimate purchasers of radiological materials. The GAO faulted the NRC for the continued use of paper licenses rather than more secure alternatives.

According to the report, an additional GAO concern involved the NRC’s threat matrix failing to consider the socioeconomic impacts and costs of a dirty bomb, which GAO estimates could be billions of dollars even for a small dirty bomb.