Fear that ”terrorists” might set off a dirty bomb prompted US authorities to raise the country’s level of alert to ”orange” or high, The Washington Post said on Wednesday.
Based more on experts’ belief that al-Qaeda might attempt to set off a dirty bomb during the end-of-year celebrations than real information, the Department of Energy sent scores of nuclear scientists with detection equipment to five major cities.
The scientists were disguised as normal citizens and their radiation detection equipment placed inside luggage, brief cases or golf bags, officials involved in the emergency effort told the daily.
Beginning on December 22, the teams covered Washington, New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Baltimore around the clock, taking measurements.
Only in Las Vegas did the needles spike inside a storage unit on December 29. The radiation, it turned out, came from a cigar-size radium pellet — used to treat cancer — that a homeless man had found and stashed away among his meagre belongings, the officials said.
The homeless man, whose identity was not disclosed, assisted authorities in their search and was not arrested.
US Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge on December 21 issued a ”Code Orange” security advisory, warning of a ”high risk of terrorist attacks”.
The heightened security led to the cancellation of several flights between Britain, France, Mexico and the United States, as well as to unprecedented security measures at open air New Year’s Eve celebrations across the country.
Federal Bureau of Investigation agents persuaded some businesses, including hotels and truck-rental firms, to voluntarily turn over their lists of guests or customers for comparison with terrorism watch lists, the officials told The Washington Post. – Sapa-AFP