New York City Expecting $18M from Homeland Security for Dirty Bomb Detection System

New York City will be getting $18.5 million in federal funding to maintain its dirty-bomb detection system, according to U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. 

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New York lawmakers have repeatedly appealed to the federal government to replenish funding for the 4,500 pieces of dirty-bomb detection equipment located throughout the city. Sen. Gillibrand says she will be lobbying the Department of Homeland Security for another $20 million next year.

The current sensors in use are supposed to detect radioactive and nuclear material before it enters city borders. These devices have also been placed in New Jersey, Connecticut and upstate New York.  

Critics have said the sensors cannot tell the difference between radiation emitted from harmful weapons and radiation emitted from ordinary medical devices.  

The new funding comes just as Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told federal lawmakers Wednesday, in her annual terror threat assessment for the U.S. Senate, that New York City remains a primary terrorism target.