Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Back to top

Back to top

Serving the Nation

LLNL's role in Counterterrorism began nearly 30 years ago with the formation of the Nuclear Emergency Search Teams (NEST) and the related Nuclear Assessment activities. Today, our Counterterrorism programs cover a wide range of programs and sponsors, from threat and risk assessments, to detection of threat materials, to understanding and mitigating the consequences of attacks, to forensic analysis, to aid in the attribution of responsibility. Our work encompasses chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high-explosive threats.

Our customers include the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Justice, the Department of Commerce, state and local governments, and non-governmental organizations. In addition, Counterterrorism programs are also supported by the Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration and Department of Defense (e.g., Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the National Guard).

Today's programs take advantage of significant historical investments by the DOE/NNSA in key infrastructure and most importantly in our multidisciplinary technical staff. Together these capabilities provide a major component of the nation's defenses against the catastrophic threat posed by the malicious use of weapons of mass destruction.

For Media Inquiries about this effort, contact Stephen Wampler, (925) 423-3107 wampler1@llnl.gov

Dirty Bomb Simulator Prepares Responders

Ryan Chen

Ryan Chen, an LLNL data analyst and visualization technologist, has developed a model called the RDD Studio that provides a detailed simulation of what an optimal response to a radiological dispersal device, or “dirty bomb,” would look like. Photo by Julie Russell/LLNL.

read full article