Nerds, ninjas, and neutrons: The story of the Nuclear Emergency Support Team. (4th March 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Tilden, Jay A.; Boyd, Dallas
• Is Part Of: Bulletin of the atomic scientists. Volume 79:Number 2(2023)
• Page Start: 87
• Page End: 94
• Publication Date: 2023-03-04
• Subjects: Bomb squad -- blackmail -- radiological incident -- nuclear security -- Broken Arrow -- improvised nuclear device; Nuclear energy -- Periodicals; Nuclear energy -- Government policy -- Periodicals; Nuclear energy -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Renewable energy sources -- Periodicals; Nuclear weapons -- Periodicals; Nuclear weapons -- Government policy -- Periodicals; Nuclear arms control -- Periodicals; 363.1799
• DOI: 10.1080/00963402.2023.2178179
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0096-3402

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Recently declassified material and other information that has never before appeared in the public domain allow the authors to explain some of the workings of the Nuclear Emergency Support Team (NEST)—often one of the first units to respond whenever there is a nuclear incident, whether it involves a nuclear reactor or a nuclear weapon. Long the subject of mystique, NEST is often depicted on screen as a secretive government unit with highly specialized capabilities and harrowing missions. The reality is at once more mundane and more remarkable. Formed in the 1970s in response to a spate of nuclear blackmail attempts, NEST has been at the center of every major nuclear event from the accident at Three Mile Island to the disaster at Fukushima. Other operations, unknown to the public, are described here for perhaps the first time. Historical accounts provide a glimpse into the breadth of the organization's missions, from neutralizing terrorist nuclear devices to responding to nuclear reactor accidents. The diversity of NEST's missions and the uniqueness of its scientific capabilities set the unit apart as a national asset.