NNSA completed the installation of radiation detection systems at Ashdod Port

Announced it had completed the installation and testing of radiation detection systems at four new ports: Ashdod, Lisbon, Kaohsiung and Port Klang
 
The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced  that within the framework of its Megaport Initiative, it had completed the installation and testing of radiation detection systems at four new ports: Ashdod, Israel; Lisbon, Portugal; Kaohsiung, Taiwan; and Port Klang, Malaysia.
 
The Megaports Initiative is a key component of a layered, multi-agency approach designed to prevent terrorists from acquiring, smuggling and using dangerous nuclear materials to develop a weapon of mass destruction or radiological dispersal device in an attack against the United States or its global partners.
 
The Megaports Initiative aims to strengthen the capability of foreign governments to deter, detect and interdict illicit trafficking in nuclear and other radioactive materials transiting the global maritime shipping system by providing radiation detection equipment, training and technical support for major seaports to scan cargo containers.
 
NNSA Administrator Thomas P. D'Agostino said in a press release that “These four new operational Megaports bring us closer to our goal of equipping 100 ports with radiation detection equipment by 2015 while helping us strengthen our capability to prevent nuclear and radiological smuggling throughout the global maritime system,”. He added that “The success of this program is due in no small part to continued and future cooperation among and support from our international partners.”
 
The Megaports Initiative is now operational at 27 major ports around the world.
 
Established by Congress in 2000, NNSA is a semi-autonomous agency within the U.S. Department of Energy responsible for enhancing national security through the military application of nuclear science in the nation’s national security enterprise. NNSA maintains and enhances the safety, security, reliability, and performance of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile without nuclear testing; reduces the global danger from weapons of mass destruction; provides the U.S. Navy with safe and effective nuclear propulsion; and responds to nuclear and radiological emergencies in the U.S. and abroad