Nuclear Terror Detection Network Expands to US City of Chicago

Expanding the Securing the Cities program to Chicago will bring important capabilities to one more of US largest metropolitan areas, according to the US Department of Homeland Security.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US government is providing the city of Chicago’s metropolitan area with $30 million over the next five years to wire the densely populated region with detectors for nuclear and radiological weapons, the US Department of Homeland Security announced in a press release on Wednesday.

"The Domestic Nuclear Detection Office’s (DNDO) mission is to protect the nation against the malicious use of nuclear and other radioactive materials," Acting DNDO Director Wayne Brasure said in the release. "Expanding the Securing the Cities program to Chicago will bring important capabilities to one more of our country’s largest metropolitan areas."

The nuclear detection program began in 2006 as a pilot project for the New York City metropolitan area. The project was expanded to metropolitan areas for the cities of Los Angeles in 2012, Washington, DC in 2014 and Houston in 2015, the release noted.

Initial work in Chicago will begin during the current fiscal year, which ends on September 30, 2016, the release added. Once completed, the system will cover about 100 million people.