National Nuclear Security Administration officials on April 6 joined representatives from the U.S. Embassy in Moldova and the Moldovan government to mark the installation of a radiation detection system at the nation’s Chisinau International Airport.
“The system of 18 radiation portal monitors and associated communications systems will enhance efforts to prevent smuggling of dangerous radioactive materials across international borders,” the NNSA said in a press release Tuesday.
The agency said that over the past six years it has assisted in deployment of radiation detection systems at 22 points of entry on the country’s borders and at its main airport, along with providing the country with seven mobile radiation detection systems. The NNSA has trained more than 200 front-line officers in operating the gear.
The NNSA works to interdict weapon-usable nuclear and radioactive materials at points of entry worldwide through its Office of Nuclear Smuggling Detection and Deterrence. It has helped install thousands of fixed, mobile, and hand-held devices worldwide, completing the radiation detection system architecture in countries such as Russia and Bulgaria.
The technology has helped prevent nuclear smuggling attempts in Georgia and Moldova, with the Black Sea region in particular emerging as a transit corridor for such material.
