Report Slams Nuclear Screening At Ports

From CNET News.com:

A new report by the Government Accountability Office concludes that the Department of Homeland Security used biased methods to enhance performance results in tests on a new generation of radiation detectors meant to protect U.S ports. At stake are $1.2 billion in contracts to produce so-called advanced spectroscopic portal (ASP) monitors and thousands of lives should they fail to work. Experts from four national laboratories were consulted prior to publication of the report (PDF) by the GAO, the nonpartisan audit and investigative arm of Congress, which was released yesterday. The agency found that the DHS's Domestic Nuclear Detection Office "used biased test methods that enhanced the performance of ASPs." Specifically, it conducted preliminary tests and then allowed contractors access to the results, which they then used to adjust systems accordingly. It is "highly unlikely that such favorable conditions" would be found in a real-world situation, the GAO report deadpanned.

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