Dirty bombsBureaucratic hurdles delay NYC dirty bomb defenses

The New York Police Department said it has been trying since last fall to obtain an $8 million federal grant for a radiation detection system, which would instantly read data from 4,500 sensors in cop cars across the region to intercept vehicles carrying explosive devices.

NYPD officials were frustrated with DHS’s delay in providing funds that were badly needed for the prevention of a “dirty bomb” attack, the New York Post reported.

“There are bureaucratic hurdles and delays between the time you apply for the money, and when you actually get to use it,” said Jessica Tisch, policy and planning director in the NYPD counter-terrorism bureau.

Fox News reports that the money to set up the radiation-reading system in a Lower Manhattan command center would come from funds allocated in 2008 for the Securing the Cities program. It took the feds five months to respond to the November request — and only to ask for more information.

After inquiries by the Post on Friday, a DHS spokeswoman said the department now has all the information it needs, and the project “will be approved in the near future.”

That news stunned NYPD officials anxiously awaiting a go-ahead. “Amazing,” Tisch said when informed by a reporter. “We have our plans in place and the last step was getting the money so we can convert it into real security for the city.”

Urgency to launch the system has heightened since Pakistan-born Faisal Shahzad parked an SUV loaded with propane in crowded Times Square on 1 May and tried to explode a fireball. A dirty bomb would disperse radioactive material.

The NYPD is also pressing for funds to put radiation sensors in each lane of traffic at all bridge and tunnel entrances to the city, Tisch said.