By Richard Powelson, News-Sentinel Washington bureau September 6, 2002
WASHINGTON - Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham on Thursday praised federal workers in Oak Ridge for providing surplus radiation detectors for emergency units in 10 major cities and predicted the East Tennessee office would provide thousands more to help many other areas prepare for terrorism.
"I want to compliment Oak Ridge for its aggressiveness in figuring out how it could be particularly helpful," Abraham said after a donation ceremony at a fire station near the U.S. Capitol. "We'll look forward to working across America to provide this equipment."
Oak Ridge's federal electronics recycling center manager, Richard Meehan, who thought of the idea of giving surplus federal radiation detectors to local governments, delivered 50 detectors to the District of Columbia on Thursday.
U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, whose district includes Oak Ridge, said: "Our people in Oak Ridge are patriotic to the core - always thinking, 'How can we help with the missions of the day?'This is, I think, just an example of many more things that the federal government can do to better prepare local government for the terror that might be on the horizon. "
So far, the following cities have asked for radiation detectors from the Oak Ridge recycling center: Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington.
The Department of Justice is working with DOE on the donated equipment, providing free training on using it properly and paying for the shipping.
As other cities' emergency management agencies hear of Washington and Philadelphia receiving free detectors this week, plus free training in the use of the devices in the near future, Meehan predicted many more cities will be ordering shipments and that additional DOE facilities will focus on donating older detectors replaced by newer models.
Many DOE sites across the country must deal with radioactive material for research or weapons production for defense programs and thus have to ensure that the radiation remains in special work areas.
Richard Powelson may be contacted at 202-408-2727 or powelsonr@shns.com