After Sept. 11, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security increased efforts to protect the country against nuclear terrorism. Working with the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration, the agency strives to prevent unauthorized nuclear material from entering the country.

“I do believe we are safer than we were in 1999,” said Glenn Sjoden, associate professor in the nuclear and radiological engineering department at the University of Florida.

Improving detection

Partnering with the NNSA, nuclear engineers in national laboratories and at universities create and test tools to detect nuclear material that may be smuggled across the border. These tools include satellites and detectors on the ground, according to the NNSA Web site.

“The biggest challenge to government right now is international commerce with shipping containers,” said Sjoden, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel.

One of the first university labs established to develop detection technology, the Florida Institute for Nuclear Detection and Security at UF focuses on portal monitoring under the NNSA’s Megaports Initiative, Sjoden said. He is the interim associate director of the institute.

The NNSA also has 11 site offices across the country. Each office focuses on a different area of nuclear security, ranging from detection to managing U.S. nuclear material.

Responding to an attack

In the event of a nuclear terrorism attack, the FBI would handle the crime scene, Sjoden said. Federal Emergency Management Agency and the NNSA would respond to the public’s needs in the health emergency. The NNSA’s Federal Radiological Monitoring and Assessment Center helps coordinate an interagency response for potential attacks.

The detonation of a nuclear device would expose the public to the greatest amount of radiation, followed by a meltdown at a nuclear power plant and then a dirty bomb, according to the Centers for Disease Control Web site.

Preparations by individuals or families for a nuclear attack resemble any basic emergency plans, such as knowing evacuation routes.