Nuclear Detection: Domestic Nuclear Detection Office Should Improve Planning to Better Address Gaps and Vulnerabilities
GAO-09-257
Published: Jan 29, 2009. Publicly Released: Mar 02, 2009.
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Highlights
In April 2005, the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) was established within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to enhance and coordinate federal, state, and local efforts to combat nuclear smuggling domestically and overseas. DNDO was directed to develop, in coordination with the departments of Defense (DOD), Energy (DOE), and State (State), a global strategy for nuclear detection--a system of radiation detection equipment and interdiction activities domestically and abroad. GAO was asked to examine (1) DNDO's progress in developing programs to address critical gaps in preventing nuclear smuggling domestically, (2) DNDO's role in supporting other agencies' efforts to combat nuclear smuggling overseas, and (3) the amount budgeted by DHS, DOD, DOE, and State for programs that constitute the global nuclear detection strategy. To do so, GAO analyzed agency documents; interviewed agency, state, and local officials; and visited select pilot program locations.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Homeland Security | To help ensure that U.S. governmentwide efforts to secure the homeland are well coordinated, well conceived, and properly implemented, the Secretary of Homeland Security should, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Energy, and the Secretary of State, use the Joint Annual Interagency Review to guide future strategic efforts to combat nuclear smuggling. This effort should include analyzing overall budget allocations to determine whether governmentwide resources clearly align with identified priorities to maximize results and whether there is duplication of effort across agencies. | The 2013 Joint Annual Interagency Report (JAIR) describes a number of steps taken by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to implement GAO's recommendation to ensure that governmentwide efforts to secure the homeland are well coordinated, conceived, and implemented. To begin with, the JAIR goes beyond what was recommended and also includes the Director of the Office of National Intelligence and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in efforts to guide strategic efforts to combat nuclear smuggling, as well as the Secretaries of Homeland Security, Defense, Energy, and State. Section 3 of the JAIR, in addition to providing budget allocations for the Global Nuclear Detection Architecture... (GNDA) sub-layers for FY 2008 through 2012, describes efforts to align resources and missions/priorities to avoid duplication by providing information on the resources spent and efforts undertaken to coordinate cross-cutting budgets to minimize the number of gaps and overlaps (duplication) between programs planned, developed, and executed by GNDA stakeholders. It also describes, as an example of coordination, a Memorandum of Understanding undertaken by the Departments of Energy, Defense, and Homeland Security to manage the coordination and funding of significant research and development efforts to enhance radiation detection capabilities across the U.S. government. Section 4 further defines various assets and capabilities applicable to the GNDA and describes how these assets and capabilities are aligned with operational elements of the GNDA. One example of this interagency coordination, highlighted by DHS officials in a separate, written statement, is the consolidation of GNDA radiation alarm adjudication and reach-back programs in FY 2012. Initially, with the establishment the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) in 2005, two separate alarm adjudication and reach-back programs were funded: DNDO Secondary Reach-back program and the Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Triage Program. According to DHS officials, NNSA and DNDO determined that resources would be more efficiently used by merging the programs into one jointly-managed national rad/nuc analysis program. DHS officials also report in the JAIR that they use other mechanisms to align budgets and avoid duplication. For example, DHS uses the GNDA Implementation Plan, issued in April 2012, to make sure that all of the goals, roles, and responsibilities of the GNDA that fall wholly within the purview of DHS were well coordinated, but also involved, coordination with interagency partners. These efforts were supplemented with a GNDA International Implementation Plan which establishes, according to DHS, priorities, measures progress, and identifies mechanisms to coordinate U.S. government agency efforts.
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| Department of Homeland Security | To help ensure that U.S. governmentwide efforts to secure the homeland are well coordinated, well conceived, and properly implemented, the Secretary of Homeland Security should develop a strategic plan for the domestic part of the global nuclear detection strategy to help ensure the future success of initiatives aimed at closing gaps and vulnerabilities. This plan should focus on, among other things, establishing time frames and costs for the three areas of recent focus--land border areas between ports of entry, aviation, and small maritime vessels. | In order to help ensure that governmentwide efforts to detect and prevent the smuggling of illicit radiological and nuclear materials into the United States are well coordinated and conceived and properly implemented, in our January 2009 report (GAO-09-257) on the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office's (DNDO's) efforts to address gaps and vulnerabilities at U.S. borders, we recommended that the Secretary of Homeland Security develop a strategic plan for the domestic part of the Global Nuclear Detection Architecture (GNDA) to ensure that future efforts aimed at closing the gaps and vulnerabilities (land borders between ports of entry, aviation, and small maritime vessels) focus on, among...
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| Department of Homeland Security | To help ensure that U.S. governmentwide efforts to secure the homeland are well coordinated, well conceived, and properly implemented, the Secretary of Homeland Security should develop criteria to assess the effectiveness, cost, and feasibility of the maritime radiological and nuclear pilot program. | DNDO developed a series of ten Critical Operations Issues (COIs) for the San Diego and Puget Sound maritime pilot, and in May 2011 issued a final report summarizing the pilot and making suggestions for potential next steps based on the lessons learned. The COIs are key questions that are examined through drills, exercises, and questions to end-users to assess how well the West Coast Maritime Pilot (WCMP) accomplished its intended purpose. COIs included questions such as: "Can the selected Preventive rad/Nuc Detection (PRND) systems be integrated into existing operations without adversely impacting an agency's primary mission or "Can equipment provided by the pilot be sustained by the...
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| Department of Homeland Security | To help ensure that U.S. governmentwide efforts to secure the homeland are well coordinated, well conceived, and properly implemented, the Secretary of Homeland Security should, if the decision is made to expand the maritime radiological and nuclear program beyond the pilot, undertake additional planning to identify next steps, including how and where a broader strategy would be implemented, what technology would be needed, what organizations should be involved, and how such efforts would be sustained. | According to DNDO officials, DNDO initiated a project and developed a number of tools to expand maritime Preventive Rad/Nuc Detection (PRND) beyond the West Coast Maritime Pilot (WCMP) including undertaking additional planning to identify: (1) How and Where a Broader Strategy Will Be Implemented: In FY11 Q4, DNDO initiated a Maritime PRND Program Assistance project to aid maritime regions in developing small vessel PRND programs. Using lessons learned from the WCMP, DNDO will assist maritime regions in developing CONOPS, SOPs, equipment selection criteria, and approaches for training and exercises. The project will focus on Group I and II port regions and the region's willingness to...
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Combating terrorismDefense capabilitiesstate relationsHomeland securityInteragency relationsInternational cooperationLessons learnedNuclear materialsNuclear radiation monitoringNuclear weaponsOperational testingProgram evaluationProgram managementRadiation monitoringSearch and seizureSmugglingStrategic planningTest equipmentTestingProgram implementationCost estimates