House lawmakers urge NRC to address vulnerabilities in purchasing of radiological materials

The leaders of the House Committee on Energy & Commerce and House Committee on Homeland Security are urging the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to immediately address vulnerabilities in its oversight of purchases of radiological materials.

The request comes after the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report last month that identified security gaps that could be exploited by terrorists and other bad actors to obtain material to deploy a dirty bomb domestically.

“The possibility of nefarious actors being able to buy such dangerous quantities of radiological material should be a call to immediate action,” the House leaders wrote in a letter to the NRC. “The threat is real – a recent publication by the Terrorgram Collective, a Racially and Ethnically Motivated Extremist group, claimed that dirty bombs are the ‘holy grail of terrorism’ and provided rough instructions on manufacturing a device using uranium ore. As law enforcement has recently been under threats of violence, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Department of Homeland Security have observed calls for using dirty bombs against law enforcement, including suggesting the placement of one in front of FBI Headquarters. Moreover, officials from the National Nuclear Security Administration have assessed that bad actors are showing an increasing interest in making dirty bombs.”

The letter was signed by U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), chair of the Committee on Energy & Commerce; U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), chair of the Committee on Homeland Security; U.S. Rep. John Katko (R-NY), ranking member on the Committee on Homeland Security; U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), vice chair of the Committee on Homeland Security; and U.S. Rep. Michael Guest (R-MS), vice ranking member Committee on Homeland Security.

The lawmakers cautioned that the traditional rulemaking process, even if expedited, would take too long – possibly years. They urge the NRC to use its authority to take immediate action.