USA - the start of more watched chems?

[fnord]

US 'dirty bomb' sting shows risk

Senator Norman Coleman said a post-9/11 mindset was needed

US investigators posing as businessmen were easily able to obtain a licence to buy enough nuclear material to make a small "dirty bomb", Congress has heard. The team, who set up a bogus company, said the operation exposed serious flaws in the way the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approves licences.
It took only four weeks and some phone calls and faxes to get the document.
The NRC says it has already taken steps to address the problem. The sting was carried out at the request of Congress.
Investigators from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said they had not even had to leave their desks to acquire the licence.
Report author Gregory Kutz told a Senate hearing that the sting clearly showed the NRC control process "did not work".
"Given that terrorists have expressed an interest in obtaining nuclear material, the Congress and the American people expect licensing programmes for these materials to be secure," Mr Kutz said.
'Wreak havoc'
Posing as businessmen, the investigators told the NRC they needed equipment using radioactive isotopes americium-241 and cesium-137 used in construction.
The economic and psychological effects of a dirty bomb detonating on American soil would be devastating


Senator Norm Coleman


They received the licence without checks on their premises and were then able to duplicate and alter the document to remove restrictions on how many they could buy.
Edward McGaffigan, commissioner of the NRC, told the hearing that the agency had solved the problem in the short term and was working on longer-term fixes.
Republican Senator Norm Coleman, of the Homeland Security investigations sub-committee which commissioned the sting, warned that the NRC was operating with a "pre-9/11 mindset in a post-9/11 world".
"It is clear that terrorists are interested in using a dirty bomb to wreak havoc in this country," he said.
"The economic and psychological effects of a dirty bomb detonating on American soil would be devastating."
Earlier this week, Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff said he had a "gut feeling" that the US faced a higher threat of terror attack this summer.
In March last year, in a separate operation, undercover GAO agents managed to cross the border into the US from Canada and Mexico with enough radioactive material for two dirty bombs.
Despite radiation detection alarms going off, border guards let them through after being shown false paperwork.


while i know this is talking about nuclear stuff,with the curent administration this could easily be pushed to include probly just about any chemical...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6896748.stm

[Infinite I]

They are total liars forget where I seen it so dont ask me to prove it but dirty bombs dont work, the US and Iraqi governments before they were invaded done tests on dirty bombs and they never managed to get them to work, its just another scare tactic to keep us in a state of fear!! For ages in the US and the UK it was dirty bombs this dirty bombs that, then we had the, sure it was dubbed liquid bombs?? Where your not allowed to take on a certain amount of liquid when boarding a plane in the UK due to these apparant plots to use these types of bombs, they are another thing that havent been proven to work!! then you had John Reid the defense secretary at the time on CNN and ITV news being asked, so John do you think these bombs woul work, he dodged the question a few times then he finally said, well yes in my personal opinion I think they would work, oh yes john sure! he doubles as a bomb expert and a politician, in his personal opinion??!! cmon total liars the lot of them !!

Peace and Love

[beentheredonethatagain]

[quote=Infinite I;286992]They are total liars forget where I seen it so dont ask me to prove it but dirty bombs dont work, the US and Iraqi governments before they were invaded done tests on dirty bombs and they never managed to get them to work, its just another scare tactic to keep us in a state of fear!! For ages in the US and the UK it was dirty bombs this dirty bombs that, then we had the, sure it was dubbed liquid bombs?? Where your not allowed to take on a certain amount of liquid when boarding a plane in the UK due to these apparant plots to use these types of bombs, they are another thing that havent been proven to work!! then you had John Reid the defense secretary at the time on CNN and ITV news being asked, so John do you think these bombs woul work, he dodged the question a few times then he finally said, well yes in my personal opinion I think they would work, oh yes john sure! he doubles as a bomb expert and a politician, in his personal opinion??!! cmon total liars the lot of them !!



Wow hows the kool aid drink up , they are making more.
I think it somewhat bogus your dismissile of something that could cause physical , mental , finacial, destruction on a small to med scale. It would take a while to recover from a few ill placed devices.

to call something a lie and ask not to have to prove it , makes me wonder.

[fnord]

huh?what? a bombs a bomb! if something blows up in your area theres a good chance youll get hurt(unless you have super powers like me)and if that bomb happens to have radio active material wrapped around it you/the area are going to get covered with it,(once again unless your like me and have good karma)a dirty bomb may not be the most effective wepon,but my knowalgde of things that explode tells me your theory on this is flawed my friend,but please if im wrong provide us with a link.

[Pondlife]

Any type of dirty bomb would cause two issues:

1. The actual damage caused (death, sickness, serious contamination); and
2. The psycological effects (fear, anxiety).

I suspect that for most amateur dirty bombs the second effect would be the main one. Radiation is very scary stuff, because you can't see it and you don't feel pain at the time of exposure.

[Nacumen]

I heard this news whilst listening to NPR and realized that most people truly believe that potentially dangerous and illegal stuff in general is strictly watched by the government.

But many of us know, big brother isn't as vigilant as most sheep are influenced to believe. This reality is rapidly becoming a remnant of the past - just look at federal pseudoephedrine restrictions, the expansion of the number of watched precursors, calls from state officials to ban baking soda due to its use in crack cocaine manufacture, and so on, and you'll see the dawning of a new age of domestic sentries and more of what the government enjoys doing perhaps most of all - protecting ourselves from ourselves.

[Nacumen]

I heard this news whilst listening to NPR and realized that most people truly believe that potentially dangerous and illegal stuff in general is strictly watched by the government.

But many of us know, big brother isn't as vigilant as most sheep are influenced to believe. This reality is rapidly becoming a remnant of the past - just look at federal pseudoephedrine restrictions, the expansion of the number of watched precursors, calls from state officials to ban baking soda due to its use in crack cocaine manufacture, and so on, and you'll see the dawning of a new age of domestic sentries and more of what the government enjoys doing perhaps most of all - protecting ourselves from ourselves.

However, I'm not so ready to write this news off as just a scare-tactic. The sting legitimately reveals serious holes in national defense - this really should not be ignored, and I think none of us expect that it will be.

But realistically, are we expected to believe that would-be terrorists would order hazardous materials in the open and watched market, just hoping by chance that the fed wont follow up on their multiple, and massive, orders of potentially massively destructive materials?

[Infinite I]

hey guys, and what does it make you wonder beenthere doneitagain?? Ive not looked into this to support my claims, im pretty sure it was on a program called the power of nightmares, and nacumen thats all they want to create the terrorists and the governement total fear, and dirty bombs arent as simple as make a bomb put some radioactive material in them voila we have a major catastrophe on our hands the way the media were making out, really sorry I cant provide sources for my claims, I seen it on something and the fact that US and Iraqi governments had tried and tested these dirty bombs and that they didnt work stuk in my head thats all. Dont beleive the hype !!!

Peace and Love