Joe’s Live Bait & Radioactive Substances
Posted on | July 12, 2007
GAO investigators found they were able to create a phony company and thereby secure a license to buy nuclear material:
The investigators from Congress’s Government Accountability Office (GAO) said the sting operation showed that US security measures remain inadequate despite new policies designed to prevent radioactive material from falling into the hands of terrorist networks.
The investigators easily secured the license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission within 28 days after a minimal background check without an interview or a visit to the purported company, the Washington Post reported, citing the GAO report to be released later Thursday.
The GAO agents ordered portable moisture density gauges, which contain radioactive americium-241 and cesium-137 and are often used at construction sites to assess soil, water and pavement, the paper said.
The investigators were able to alter the license, removing a limit on the amount of radioactive material they could buy, the report says.
“We altered the license so that it appeared our bogus company could purchase an unrestricted quantity” of radioactive material, the Post said, citing the report.
Sleep tight.
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