NEWS: Missing Radioactive Material Found 3 Months Later

Radioactive material that was being shipped from Russia to Texas last October never turned up at it's destination. The radioactive material, which was not reported as missing until last Tuesday, turned up at an freight warehouse in Boston. Federal laws dictate that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission be notified within 30 days once material is found to be missing; however, this shipment fell through the cracks and sat unattended in a wharehouse for months.



Should we be amused or frightened that a shipment of radioactive material can go missing for such a long time without anyone caring? Nuclear Regulatory Commission said that it would look into implementing a full tracking system for radioactive material to keep future incidents from happening.

So basically Halliburton said it was importing radioactive material, and once the nod of approval was given, no one bothered to make sure the material reached it's proper destination. One has to wonder if the government really knows everything that is being shipped into this country.

Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
Time Magazine: Al-Qaeda Plans To Move Nuclear Material into USA

[edit on 11-2-2005 by dbates]

well at least it was found, what about the tons of missing fertilizer, has anyone found that yet?

It almost makes you wonder if somebody, who wasn't in the know, slipped up and reported this stuff missing. Seriously though, I wonder what the energy of this stuff is. Is it highly radioactive and could it have been used in a dirty bomb? Thank God they found it. Pretty scary stuff.

I've worked on ships for a few years, and I've stopped at many US ports. It's unbelievable how sloppy security is in almost every single US port I visited. Miami, New York and New Jersey were really the only ports I've visited with any kind of real security, and even then...it was nothing compared to any US airport I've been in.

So, I guess they think that terrorists are only going to use planes now. C'mon...get real.
I wonder how many Al Qaeda people are learning about sailing ships right now?

Probably more than you think...

I work on a cruise ship, and while the guests are heavily searched at every step along the way, the crew has very little security focused on them at any point. Usually, it's just one metal detector onboard, run by ship staff (who, once you get to know them, don't really search you), and then you're basically through all the security you're going to see, and you're walking around some US city all alone.

Sometimes there is one more check for papers (not a photo ID, just papers)...but not all the time.

Some ports don't have any checkpoints at all. Only the big, east coast cities seem to have any idea of security, and the west coast is totally ignored. San Diego, San Francisco, Honolulu, Astoria, Seattle, Alaska...nothing more than a fence with a gate really. Vancouver & Victoria are the only ports on the West coast taking security seriously. Both Canadian ports.

The week of Sep't 11, 2001...I was in Seattle, and I walked straight off the ship into downtown without so much as a nod from any security. I came from Canada that day (where the security was airtight)...across an international border into the states.

We were held up in Vancouver for 10 hours before they cleared the ship, but a day later in Seattle, I was walking through downtown 5 minutes after the gangway was down going "I could have just brought a bomb...or at least some cheap Canadian prescription drugs with me...that was too easy!"

(Homeland Security...that was a joke. I didn't bring anything in. Please don't torture me.)

Anyways, however scary the security for cruise ships may seem...security for container ships is a complete joke and is actually very serious. Much less security than the cruise ships get.

Guess the ports aren't as pretty. Nobody is looking at them, so there's no need for presence?

Hardly any containers are even opened at any US port these days. Only a small percentage of containers are actually opened and searched...and understand that these are full-size-truck-trailers of who-knows-what being delivered into the US everyday without so much as a search.

It would be incredibly easy to slip something big into the US on a container, and then hook it to a truck and drive it right into the US heartland. No questions asked.

That just seems like a massive breach in the armour that is going to be exploited one day. It's like you're all camped out at the front door (airports) and you've left the garage open.

Have fun you guys...hope you stop making enemies real soon for all our sake.

Originally posted by radiofreebcj

Have fun you guys...hope you stop making enemies real soon for all our sake.

Good advice IMO.

Aside from the security - what about the poor people who were exposed to radiation? Are they having "mysterious" ailments? ...and how often might this be happening?!?


.

Originally posted by radiofreebcj
Vancouver & Victoria are the only ports on the West coast taking security seriously.

As for the Vancouver Port, it is common knowledge here that the Port is run by the Hell's Angels. It is such a poorly kept secret, that you will even see workers wearing their colours.

Perhaps some aspects of the security are taken seriously, but I wouldn't take too much comfort in the fact that the Angels decide what contraband comes in and out, based on how much they are paid.

However, they're not all bad. I live a few blocks from a big Clubhouse, and the crime in my neighbourhood is zilch.

This radioactive material was bound for texas, does anybody knows if the material was to be for los Alamos nuclear research plant?

Or somewhere else.

Well...those Hells Angels sure made everyone's life hell in Vancouver (haha).

There was loads of security, both at Canada Place and Ballantine's Pier. They'd freak on you if you walked outside of the taped areas on the floor, and everything was searched.

But Seattle...I swear, it was a gate and a guy with a clipboard saying "Welcome to Seattle".
It's still like that.

Haliburton is blaming the shipping company. Said they improperly labeled the material and sent it to the wrong location.

I remember when ever I had to deal with radioactive material, that if it EVER Left my posession, I was fully aware that it was labeled properly, and had proper security control requirements met.

Remeber that
Boston Dirty Bomb Alert

That was only a few weeks before this.

Phae

Originally posted by radiofreebcj
But Seattle...I swear, it was a gate and a guy with a clipboard saying "Welcome to Seattle".
It's still like that.

Well at least he's friendly And I bet if he hit you on the head with his clipboard, it would hurt.

The border crossings aren't much better. I've always thought it was weird how we get blamed for letting terrorists cross the border when it's your customs agents waving them through. They do some searches, but not nearly enough, considering the concerns your country has.

At least the HA can kick some major behind if need be.