US Provides Bulgaria with Equipment to Prevent Nuclear Smuggling

Bulgaria's Interior Minister Tsvetanov (left) smiles as PM Borisov and senior US official David Huizenga (middle) seal the commissioning of the American radiation detection equipment to Bulgaria. Photo by BGNES

The US National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and Bulgaria's Interior Ministry announced the commissioning of mobile radiation detection equipment to be deployed throughout Bulgaria as part of the cooperative effort to prevent the smuggling of nuclear materials.

In a ceremony today in Sofia Monday, NNSA Assistant Deputy Administrator for International Material Protection and Cooperation David Huizenga, US Ambassador to Bulgaria James Warlick, and Bulgarian Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov highlighted the deployment of the new mobile detectors as an example of the cooperation between the two countries to secure nuclear and radiological material.

"Working with our partners in Bulgaria and around to world to deploy fixed and mobile radiation detection equipment is critical to our shared effort to prevent nuclear terrorism and the proliferation of nuclear weapons. By locking down nuclear materials and preventing terrorists or would-be proliferators from smuggling them across international borders, we are working to implement President Obama's unprecedented nuclear security agenda while promoting peace and security around the world," said NNSA Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Anne Harrington, as cited by the US Embassy in Sofia.

A 2008 Memorandum of Understanding between the US and Bulgaria enables NNSA's Second Line of Defense (SLD) program to partner with Bulgaria's Interior to combat nuclear smuggling by installing radiation detection equipment at border crossings and other points of entry, conducting border security training and holding technical workshops with law enforcement agencies in Bulgaria.

As part of that agreement, NNSA provided the government of Bulgaria two vans and two backpacks equipped with radiation detection equipment and hand-held detectors to assist front-line personnel to interdict, detect and identify radioactive material.

NNSA's SLD program works with foreign governments at border crossings, airports, seaports and other points of entry to install specialized radiation detection equipment to detect smuggled nuclear and other radioactive materials. NNSA has installed similar equipment at nearly 400 sites 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.

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