Dirty bomb detectors deployed on city streets

Scientists equipped with radiation detectors hidden in briefcases and golf bags scoured US cities in the run-up to New Year amid fears terrorists were planning to detonate a dirty bomb, it emerged today.

Concerns that terrorists could attack a mass New Year’s Eve gathering like that in New York’s Times Square or a packed football stadium led to the drastic measures, security sources were quoted as saying.

The search for radioactive bomb material, which focused on Washington, New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Baltimore, came as the terror threat level was raised to “high” last month.

The prospect of an attack with a dirty bomb, a device which uses conventional explosives to disperse deadly radiation, remains the nightmare of American security officials.

Such a device could kill hundreds and spark panic in a big city. Al Qaida is believed to be pursuing such a bomb relentlessly.

One counter-terrorism source told the Washington Post: “Government officials are surprised that people aren’t more hyped about all this.”

To counter the threat, hundreds of nuclear and biological weapons experts are on high alert at military bases around the United States.

They could be dispatched to any danger area, while stockpiles of drugs are also held at bases ready for distribution in the event of an attack.

In response to the New Year’s Eve fears the scientists armed with radiation detectors were dispatched.

“Our guys can fit in a sports stadium, a construction site or on Fifth Avenue,” one Energy Department official told the newspaper.

“Their equipment is configured to look like anybody else’s luggage or briefcase.”

In addition the Homeland Security Department sent out large radiation detectors and hundreds of pager-size radiation monitors to police in Washington, New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, Houston, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Detroit.

The recent security focus was on large New Year’s Eve gatherings.

In New York security was tight, with helicopter gunships patrolling the skies above the city, and revellers having to pass through metal detectors to get into Times Square.

In Las Vegas, more helicopters were dispatched and hotels were told to turn over guest lists, so security officials could compare names against terrorist watch lists.

The biggest fear was sparked in Las Vegas, where the scientists recorded a radiation spike. Further tests showed it to be radium.

Scientists and FBI agents arrived at the suspicious building and found a homeless man had been keeping a shiny radium pellet, used to treat uterine cancer.

He had picked the object up three years ago and, not knowing what it was, decided to keep it.