The Department of Homeland Security’s Approach to Countering Nuclear Terrorism through Detection and Technical Forensics

To combat the threat of nuclear terrorism, the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) was established within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to focus efforts on developing and enhancing radiological and nuclear detection and national technical nuclear forensics capabilities. With respect to nuclear detection, we at DNDO, in concert with interagency partners, are developing and enhancing a multi-faceted, layered, defense-in-depth framework to make prohibitively difficult the importation, possession, storage, development, transportation, or use of nuclear or other radioactive material that is out of regulatory control. In furtherance of this framework, we conduct research and development on detection and forensics technologies, characterize system performance, acquire and deploy detection systems, and support operational partners with the development of programs to effectively perform detection operations. To support the U.S. Government’s (USG) attribution process, we focus on improving the readiness of the overarching USG forensic capabilities; advancing the technical capabilities to perform forensic analyses on pre-detonation nuclear and other radioactive materials; and building and sustaining an expertise pipeline for nuclear forensic scientists. These efforts, coupled with the work of interagency partners, will advance USG capabilities to detect and interdict a nuclear threat and hold accountable those who are responsible for such actions