NUCLEAR MATERIAL SECURITY NEEDS IN THE 21st CENTURY

摘要

Since September 11, 2001 there has been a fundamental transition in the way we view radiological sources and devices in our environment. Ionizing Radiological Sources, (IRSs) which serve a multitude of important medical, industrial, and research needs in our modern society, were not so long ago viewed as common place in an industrialized society, only of concern to health and the environment if control is lost accidentally. But, 9/11 taught us that those bent on indiscriminant terror are capable of taking the most common place elements of our advanced technology and turning them into effective weapons of mass destruction. And radiological sources quickly became the object of concern as a potentially disruptive threat to our national security.