Radiation Detection

Nuclear bombs linked to terrorists is a serious problem that the United States has been trying to deal with for many years, especailly after 9/11, so the Department of Homeland Security and the government are trying to come up with a system to crack down on radiation activity by using scanning monitors. The problem with this system is that the scanners are set up along eight major ports worldwide along with 450 border-crossings, but they are set off very easily. Innocent contraband such as granite countertops and vasses trigger the radiation alarms causing much hostility for some government officials including Laura Holgate, a former Defense Department official. She believes that if the government has trouble stopping drug trafficing, it would be very hard to limit nuclear weapons, especially if some of the chemicals like plutonium give off very low levels of radiaiton and therefore passing the scanners. With Bush and Chenny supporting the scanner system and ultimately wanting to expand the network of these radiation systems along major coasts, ports, freeways, and even in police vehicles, while other government officials have little confidence in the system, there is going to much contrversey as time progresses. A resolution is bound to arrive at some point, but who knows when a reliable source of protection against terrorism will be set in place.

I believe that Bush is making the right decision to support a system that can protect the United States against nuclear weapon terrorism, but I also believe Laura Holgate is logical when she had little confidence in the current scanner situation. The scanners are too sensitive and there are too many chemicals that give out low radiation levels. Tthere has to be a new system formulated globally to ensure the safety of Americans on their home turf.

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-na-detectors25nov25,1,4533702.story?coll=la-news-science&ctrack=1&cset=true