Bill aims to track nuclear materials from terrorists

The Department of Homeland Security could be pouring as much as $30 million into efforts to “fingerprint” nuclear material under a bill by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) that passed Congress on Thursday. The bill, which is awaiting President Obama’s signature, recommends the department create a National Technical Nuclear Forensics Center to focus on tracking material that terrorists could use in nuclear weapons. The tracking technology should help fill in the gap between nation-based nuclear warheads and the possibility of terrorist-based attacks not tied to any one government, which would make tracing the origin of the material much more difficult, Schiff said. The prospect of an improved government database would be a major step toward increased intelligence and security capabilities, said Paul Carroll, program director for Ploughshares Fund.