The Texas Tribune, August, 4th, 2016, Opinion: In Dirty Bomb Prevention, Texas Fails a Crucial Test
The article brings to light how accessible it is to gather components to build a dirty bomb considering the current laws and regulations set by the federal and state government.
In the first week of August 1945, the world saw the first and only use of nuclear weapons in warfare. America’s use of the atomic bombs on Japan, resulted in the death of over 130,000 people and caused unpredicted effects on physical health. In relation today we face ongoing issues of terrorism and the possibility of dirty bombs being deployed in the U.S. The problem is the U.S. government has an inadequate system for preventing the wrong …show more content…
through obtaining a license and ordering radioactive materials from suppliers. What they found was concerning, they established a fake shell company In Dallas, where they rented space, just to establish an address for the license application. The form required them to identify their safety officer, they just made up a fake identity and demonstrated that they needed the radioactive material for oil and gas exploration. The application was sent to Texas regulators, which were associated with the NRC and were able to issue licenses without involving the federal government. After assuring the inspector that once they had a license they would be able to make the proper safety and security renovations. The inspector granted their license without further questions, allowing them to purchase small amounts of radioactive materials. Further on the article explains how they were easily able to alter the amount of material they were able to purchase from suppliers and could’ve collected an enough material to easily build a dirty bomb.
This article impacts government as it brings to concern an investigation exposing the weaknesses of the government’s ability to prevent radioactive materials from falling into the wrong hands and brought to light the inherent risk of dirty bombs to be deployed in the United States. Likewise, the article is relevant because it illustrates that the federal and state governments should review their laws and regulation involving radioactive materials and make the needed change to maintain safety and security in the United