Debate over next-generation radiation portals continues.

• Position: SECURITY BEAT - Brief article

In the waning days of the Bush administration, the Department of Homeland Security and the Government Accountability Office were still trading barbs over the effectiveness of the next generation of radiation portals to be deployed at ports.

The advanced spectroscopic portals (ASPs) are intended to check trucks, trains or shipping containers arriving by sea for nuclear material. Since earlier versions of the technology were prone to false alarms--or worse--a failure to detect radioactive material that could be used in a weapon, Congress demanded that the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security personally certify that the devices are better than what is currently being used.

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After a withering GAO report, entitled, "DHS' Phase 3 Test Report on Advanced Portal Monitors Does Not Fully Disclose the Limitations of the Test Results," was released at the end of October, it appears doubtful that Secretary Michael Chertoff will be the one to approve the portals.

"The report does not accurately depict the results from the test and could potentially be misleading," stated the report, which was dated Sept. 30, but...