Tests are being conducted in Nevada this month on a new
generation of radiation detectors - but their price tag may keep them from ever
being widely used.
According to The
Associated Press, when a truck passes through one of the 600 radiation
scanners that are currently in place at ports and border crossings across the
U.S., an alarm can be set off by something as innocent as a bag of kitty litter
or a pallet of ceramic tile.
The new machines are supposed to be able to discriminate
kitty litter from a nuclear device. However, they cost about $377,000 apiece -
more than six times the cost of the older models, The AP reported.
