A study released by the National Research Council’s Committee on Nuclear Forensics suggests that the capabilities of the U.S. to prevent, mitigate, or attribute a nuclear or radiological incident through nuclear forensics is declining.

Nuclear forensics involves the examination and evaluation of discovered or seized nuclear materials and devices or, in cases of nuclear explosions or radiological dispersals, of detonation signals and post-detonation debris. The goal of these examinations is to determine the source and extent of a nuclear attract by identifying the source of the materials used in the device.

The National Research Council’s report, “Nuclear Forensics: A Capability at Risk” identified four areas of concern:

Organization. The responsibility for nuclear forensics is shared by several agencies without central authority and with no consensus on strategic requirements to guide the program. This organizational complexity hampers the program and could prove to be a major hindrance operationally.

Sustainability. The nation's current nuclear forensics capabilities are available primarily because the system of laboratories, equipment, and personnel upon which they depend was developed and funded by the nuclear weapons program. However, the weapons program's funds are declining.

Workforce and Infrastructure. Personnel skilled in nuclear forensics are too few and are spread too thinly. Some key facilities are in need of replacement because they are old, outdated, and not built to modern environmental, health, and safety standards.

Procedures and Tools. Most nuclear forensics techniques were developed to carry out Cold War missions and to satisfy a different, less restrictive set of environmental, health, and safety standards. Some of the equipment also does not reflect today's technical capabilities.

To meet these challenges, the panel offers a range of recommendations. Among them: conduct more-realistic, unannounced drills to get a better sense of where gaps in responses are; ensure investigators have access to all relevant databases, even if they are classified or proprietary; boost R&D to give nuclear investigators the tools to allow them to produce scientifically credible results in less time; and look for ways to improve sharing information internationally.

In response to this report and other concerns President Obama has developed a five-year strategic plan to deal with the challenges faced by the country's nuclear forensic workforce. He also signed into law the Nuclear Forensics and Attribution Act, which attempts to deal with a looming shortage in experts in the field, among its other provisions.

Sources: National Research Council, The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor