Forewarning to Nuclear Terrorists in New Orleans

NNSA helicopter

National nuclear security agency helicopters are set to conduct aerial measurements of background radiation in the New Orleans, LA, area in the coming days.

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said on Jan. 24 that it will be flying a helicopter over portions of the Louisiana city between Jan. 25 and Jan. 29, 2013 to measure naturally-occurring radiation in the area.

The NNSA said its Remote Sensing Laboratory (RSL) Aerial Measuring System (AMS) out of Joint Base Andrews near Washington, DC, will perform the assessment for local law enforcement in New Orleans.

NNSA officials said the radiation assessment will cover approximately 30 square miles. The agency said it would use a helicopter equipped with remote gamma radiation sensing technology to complete the assessment. The helicopter will fly in a grid pattern over the areas, 200 feet (or higher) above the ground surface, at a speed of approximately 80 miles per hour, it said, only during daylight hours. The agency said the assessment would take about four days to complete.

The measurement of naturally occurring radiation to establish baseline levels is a normal part of security and emergency preparedness.

The assessment is one of many the agency has been conducting in the past few months. It regularly notifies the public of the upcoming flights to ensure citizens who see the low-flying aircraft aren’t alarmed.

It conducted a similar assessment in Washington, D.C., between Dec. 27 and Jan. 11 and Dec. 26. The agency has conducted similar overflights in other cities, including Baltimore and San Francisco, earlier in 2012.

Blogger Note: While its nice to have transparency with our own people, it just does not seem right to give nuclear terrorists advance notice (if there be any).