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To: KLP who wrote (15802)	11/10/2003 5:58:45 PM
From: KLP	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793682

Part 2-Dirty Bomb Danger: The Los Alamos analysis specifically cited concerns about the transportation of large shipments of radioactive cobalt from industrial sites, as well as lax security at hospitals that use radiological devices to treat and diagnose patients. The GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, detailed how terrorists could abuse the legal method for obtaining radiological sources because the NRC takes as long as a year to inspect facilities after it mails them a license for such materials. "Because the process assumes that the applicant is acting in good faith and it can take the NRC as along as 12 months before conducting an inspection, it is possible that sealed sources can be obtained for malicious intent," the GAO told the Senate recently. NRC Commissioner Edward McGaffigan Jr. said the GAO concerns were overstated, focusing on materials with extremely low level radioactivity. He said his agency has been taking steps for months to more securely ship and store high-risk sources. "We honestly think we are doing a very aggressive and excellent job in this area, but we have obviously more to do," McGaffigan said in an interview. "Our view is we don't want to lose any of them, and we are going to have cradle-to-grave controls as soon as we possibly can for high-risk sources." He said the government was undertaking a first-ever inventory of who possesses radioactive materials and how much they possess. The GAO questioned whether the NRC has moved fast enough to secure sealed sources - devices that contain small amounts of radiological materials used in construction and hospitals. "The number of sealed sources in the United States is unknown because NRC and states track numbers of licensees instead of sealed sources," the GAO told the Senate in a report published in August. Rest At >>>>>>>>>>