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March 08, 2010

Miller letter to Secretary Napolitano regarding DHS’s knowledge of helium-3 shortage and status of search for potential substitutes

 

March 8, 2010
 
 
The Honorable Janet Napolitano
Secretary
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington D.C. 20528
 
 
Dear Secretary Napolitano:
 
            Late last year, Dr. William Hagan, acting director of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) testified at a hearing of the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight that the demand for helium-3, an essential component in neutron detecting radiation monitors, outstripped supply by a ratio of ten to one and the stockpile was disappearing. As a result, a White House task force halted the use of helium-3 for use in radiation detection monitors.[1]


[1] “The Science of Security Part II: Technical Problems Continue to Hinder Advanced Radiation Monitors,” Committee on Science and Technology, Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight, U.S. House of Representatives, Nov. 17, 2009.

 Read the complete letter to Secretary Napolitano >> 

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