GAO finds vulnerabilities in security of Radioactive Materials

Dear Radioactive Materials Licensees:

On March 23, 2022, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) notified NRC that they had conducted an undercover investigation focused on the NRC’s and the Agreement States’ license verification process for materials other than Category 1 and 2. Beginning in 2020, the GAO set up five shell companies to appear as legitimate businesses that routinely use radioactive materials. The GAO altered the images of NRC and Agreement State licenses found on the internet to authorize up to Category 3 quantities of radioactive materials for the fictitious companies. Using the counterfeited licenses, the GAO contacted radioactive source vendors in the United States and was able to order and receive Category 3 material.

The NJDEP is reminding licensees that there could be bad actors interested in obtaining radioactive materials, including Category 3 sources, for malicious purposes. Accordingly, we are asking  licensees to be vigilant regarding making copies of their radioactive materials licenses publicly available. Licenses should only be provided to people who have a legitimate reason to have access to the license information. Every effort should be made to ensure that copies of licenses are not shared openly on websites. Currently there are no regulations that require licensees with Category 3 quantities or lower to keep their radioactive materials license secure.  However, such actions will help prevent unauthorized transfers and the potential for malicious activity.

Should you have questions regarding this notice, please contact the Bureau of Environmental Radiation at 609-984-5462.

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