• Source of mysterious European radiation found

    The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) believes a Hungarian factory producing medical isotopes is the source of the mysterious radiation that has been detected across Europe; beginning four weeks ago, trace amounts of iodine-131 were detected by several countries including Austria and the Czech Republic

  • National Guard and first responders hold dirty bomb drill in upstate NY

    In a unique training exercise, hundreds of New York National Guardsmen and local emergency personnel responded to a simulated dirty bomb explosion in downtown Kingston in upstate New York over the weekend

  • Hybrid detector monitors alpha, beta, and gamma radiation simultaneously

    By combining three layers of detection into one new device, a team of researchers from Japan has proposed a new way to monitor radiation levels at power plant accident sites; the device could limit the exposure times of clean-up workers by taking three measurements simultaneously

  • New York police officers equipped and ready to detect dirty bombs

    Law enforcement officials operating in the New York City region are trained and equipped to intercept dirty bomb threats

  • New technology for safe storage of radioactive waste

    Researchers have developed new technology capable of removing radioactive material from contaminated water and aiding clean-up efforts following nuclear disasters

  • Highly concentrated radiation found in Tokyo

    A recent study indicates that radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which suffered a meltdown following the 11 March earthquake and tsunami in Japan, has spread further and was more concentrated than previously thought

  • Cold War nuclear legacy challenges science, society

    Fifty years of U.S. nuclear weapons production, and government-sponsored nuclear energy research and production, generated contaminated soil and groundwater covering two million acres in thirty-five states; for most of that period, the U.S. government did not have environmental structures, technologies, or infrastructure to deal with the problem

  • Pentagon expends cyber networks security project

    The Pentagon plans to extend a cyber defense pilot program intended to help protect U.S. defense contractors from cyberattacks to more private companies, subcontractors, and industries such as power plants

  • Study finds traces Japanese radiation in U.S. rain and food

    A recently published government study found that following the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant in Japan, elevated levels of radiation were detected in U.S. rain water as well as vegetables and milk

  • Two radiation generators help protect U.S.

    One aspect of a nuclear explosion— the electro-magnetic pulse, or EMP — was much discussed during the cold war: scientists argued that exploding a nuclear bomb in the skies high above the United States would create an EMP which would disrupt electronic equipment and paralyze the nation; two remarkable pulsed-power machines used to test the U.S. defenses against atomic weapons have surpassed milestones at Sandia National Laboratories

  • New materials hold promise for better detection of nuclear weapons

    Researchers have developed new materials that can detect hard radiation, a very difficult thing to do; the method could lead to a hand-held device for detecting nuclear weapons and materials, such as a “nuclear bomb in a suitcase” scenario

  • Detecting contraband radioactive material

    Researchers are building a highly sensitive instrument that will detect illicit radioactive materials with pinpoint accuracy from a safe distance; such materials, located in shipping ports, train stations, truck stops, or warehouses, potentially could be used to make dirty bombs or associated with a nuclear device itself

  • Innovative plastic slashes cost of radiation detectors

    Japan’s Teijin Chemicals announced it will begin supplying scintirex, an innovative low-cost radiation-fluorescent plastic, in late September; scintirex will be used in scintillators — the material at the core of radioactive radiation detectors; the use of the new plastic will slash the production cost of scintillators to one tenth or less of current levels

  • Microbes clean up nuclear waste -- and generate electricity

    Researchers have discovered how microbes generate electricity while cleaning up nuclear waste and other toxic metals; the microbes effectively immobilize the radioactive material and prevent it from leaching into groundwater; the discovery could benefit sites changed forever by nuclear contamination

  • Teams dispatched to inspect Vermont nuclear plant following Irene

    Following the torrential rains from Hurricane Irene on Sunday, federal officials have dispatched inspection teams to examine the aging Vermont Yankee nuclear plant to ensure that the plant has not been compromised; the plant has the same design as the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan which suffered a partial meltdown following the 11 March earthquake and tsunami