DOE WINS NATIONAL AWARD FOR HOMELAND
DEFENSE EQUIPMENT REUSE PROGRAM
 

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. - The Homeland Defense Equipment Reuse Program, a pilot program spearheaded by a partnership between the Department of Energy and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)/Office of Domestic Preparedness, was recently awarded a Pollution Prevention award, which is given to reward pollution prevention and recycling-related activities.  

This was the only award given in the Model Facility Demonstration/Complex-Wide Achievement category, and as a result, will compete for the White House “Closing the Circle” award.  

“It is an honor to win this award, and we’re especially proud because of the significance of the program and its positive response to the president’s call to action in defending the country against terrorists acts,” said Dr. Vincent Adams, Director of Reindustrialization Division in the Office of Assets Utilization for DOE’s Oak Ridge Offices.  “When President Bush asked Americans to help win the war on terrorism, we knew there was a way that Oak Ridge employees could help, and we found a way to do it.”

The Homeland Defense Equipment Reuse (HDER) Program was established in response to the September 11 tragedy as a way to improve homeland security.  The program makes excess radiological detection equipment available to emergency response and security agencies in U.S. cities.

The HDER program became a reality in September 2002, and since that time more than 1,000 instruments have been delivered to Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York City, Boston, Houston, San Francisco, Detroit, and Los Angeles.  The pilot phase of the program, oriented toward the 10 most populous metropolitan areas in the U.S., has given way to a wider-reaching program this year and will be expanded to all cities nationwide.   

“This program is truly a joint effort that benefits everyone involved,” said Adams. “DOE benefits by putting equipment back into use instead of storing or disposing of it, and at the same time it helps the Department of Homeland Security move one step closer to its overall goal of protecting the nation.  But most importantly, by better equipping our law enforcement agencies, this program protects and ensures the safety of the American people.” 

Before the equipment is donated to first responders, each instrument is inspected by The Oak Ridge National Recycle Center (TORNRC) and, if necessary, is repaired.  A list of available equipment is then given to the Department of Homeland Security, who notifies the potential users of what is available.  TORNRC then assembles the orders of equipment and ships them directly to first responder agencies using DHS resources.  The DHS then provides training to the recipient in the proper usage of the radiation detection equipment. 

New equipment would cost between $800 and $30,000 each, depending on size and capability, but through the HDER program, the equipment and training is supplied free of cost to first responders. 

Additional information about the HDER Program can be obtained at the DOE’s Web site at http://www.oakridge.doe.gov or at the DHS’s Web site at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov. 

-DOE-

R-03-005