Newsday - NY to get nuclear detector devices

Saturday July 15, 2006

From Newsday:

NY to get nuclear detector devices


July 15, 2006

WASHINGTON - The Department of Homeland Security announced Friday that New York would be the beneficiary of two pilot programs designed to guard against a nuclear terror strike.

The $1.1 billion Advanced Spectroscopic Portal program funds the purchase of equipment that can scan cargo for radiological material. Homeland Security officials said New York ports and a nuclear test site in Nevada will be the first two locales to receive these new machines.

Also, federal officials said New York also will be the nation's first city to have radiological detection devices deployed throughout its boundaries. The devices are designed to detect a dirty bomb.

House Homeland Security chairman Peter King (R-Seaford) said the announcement was a win for New York, particularly coming after last week's increase in rail security funds.

The new plans are "a clear recognition that New York is the No. 1 terror threat in the country," said King, who had been a vocal critic of the department's decision in May to cut anti-terror funds to New York by 40 percent. "It's a recognition by the department that what they did was wrong." - J. Jioni Palmer

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