From the AP via
Michael MooreRadioactive Matter Gets Into U.S. in Test
March 28th, 2006 3:22 pm
Radioactive Matter Gets Into U.S. in Test
By Liz Sidoti / Associated Press
Installing radiation detectors at U.S. entry points is taking too long and costing too much, says a congressional watchdog agency whose undercover investigators breached security by slipping nuclear material into the United States.
In a test last year, the small amounts of cesium-137, which is used in industrial gauges, triggered radiation alarms in Texas and Washington state. The material was enough to make two small "dirty bombs," officials said, yet U.S. customs agents permitted the investigators to enter the United States because they were tricked with counterfeit documents.
The Bush administration says that within 45 days it will give U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents the tools they need to verify such documents in the future.
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To test security at U.S. borders with Mexico and Canada, GAO investigators last year represented themselves as employees of a fake company and obtained cesium-137. They attempted to cross into the United States with the substance — enough to possibly create two crude radiological bombs that could spread radiation if spread by the blast of a conventional explosive.