Re: your tax dollars at work
- From: "Jerry Okamura" <okamuraj005@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 27 Jun 2009 07:15:45 -1000
If these machines are "marginally better" then they have a better chance of detecting a radioation source, aren't they? If they are better at detecting a radiation source, then they may be able to prevent a device which could kill people couldn't it? If it can prevent someone or a lot of someones from dying, should we be making a cost benefit analysis to determine whether to use these machines or not?
"arthur wouk" <awouk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:1246042963.302413@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
remember, this all was inherited from the schrub administrations DHS.
the gang that couldn't shoot straight.
Report: New radiation detection machines government's been developing not
worth the money
EILEEN SULLIVAN , Star Tribune
WASHINGTON - The government shouldn't buy more of the new radiation
detection machines it's been developing to look for smuggled nuclear
materials at ports, a report from the National Research Council says.
The new machines are only marginally better at detecting hidden nuclear
material than monitors already at U.S. ports, but would cost more than
twice as much, says the report released Wednesday.
The Homeland Security Department, which oversees the development and
deployment of the new machines, has already spent $235 million on them and
could spend more than $1 billion.
The new report echoes concerns raised by Congress and the Government
Accountability Office about the government's next generation radiation
detectors.
Instead of purchasing more of the new machines, the government should
deploy the devices it already has to ports and test them there, said the
research council, part of the National Academy of Sciences.
Rep. Brad Miller, chairman of a House subcommittee that is scheduled to
hear testimony about the machines Thursday, said it's time to slow down.
"We need to put the brakes on this program and thoroughly test and
validate these new radiation monitors before we waste taxpayer money on a
system that doesn't enhance our security," said Miller, D-N.C.
Because the threat of smuggled nuclear material and the technology to
detect threats will continue to evolve, the Homeland Security Department
should focus on deploying new machines incrementally instead of all at
once, the report said.
The machines are intended to prevent terrorists or criminals from
smuggling inside a cargo container a nuclear bomb or its explosive
components.
The portal monitors now in use can detect the presence of radiation, but
they cannot distinguish between threatening and nonthreatening material.
Radioactive material found naturally in ceramics and kitty litter, for
example, would be of no use in making a bomb.
The Department of Homeland Security says the new machines it is developing
can distinguish between kitty litter and dangerous radioactive material
and will produce fewer false alarms than the current ones.
The new machines are also better at detecting lightly shielded material.
But the machines perform at about the same level when detecting
radiological and nuclear materials hidden in a lead box or casing, the
most likely way for a terrorist to attempt to sneak the materials into
this country, the Government Accountability Office said in a report
released Monday.
Homeland Security Department spokeswoman Sara Kuban said the department is
doing a cost-benefit analysis on the current machines compared to the new
ones.
___
On the Net:
[3]http://national-academies.org/morenews/20090624.html
References
1. http://www.startribune.com/
2. http://www.startribune.com/nation/49015761.html
3. http://national-academies.org/morenews/20090624.html
--
"be wary of mathematicians..especially when they speak the truth."
--sT. Augustine
to email me, delete blackhole. from my return address
.
- Prev by Date: Re: Union Bribe: Unions’ Health Benefits May Avoid Tax Under Senate Proposal
- Next by Date: Re: Obama: Cheney's Policies Made Us Less Safe
- Previous by thread: Re: eat hearty
- Next by thread: Iran's president lashes out at Obama
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
Loading
