Nuclear Emergency Support Team (2020 DOE transition)
| Book 2 - Issue Papers
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| Entire 2020 DOE Transition book As of October 2020 |
 | This page in a nutshell: The Department of Energy (DOE)/National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is responsible for preparing for and responding to nuclear incidents and accidents domestically and overseas. These response missions include both national security and public health and safety disciplines. |
The Nuclear Emergency Support Team (NEST) encompasses DOE/NNSA nuclear and radiological emergency response functions, including all NEST field-deployed and remote technical support elements. Managed by NNSA’s Office of Nuclear Counterterrorism and Counterproliferation (CTCP, NA-80), NEST is responsible for executing the Department’s Primary Mission Essential Function (PMEF) #2, Respond to Nuclear Incidents, which involves “providing operational support and decision-making in protecting against and responding to a nuclear incident, both domestically and internationally.” NEST’s critical incident response missions include countering weapons of mass destruction (WMD) threats; responding to accidents and incidents involving U.S. nuclear weapons; and conducting operations to protect public health and safety. NEST is comprised of experts from the CTCP offices and national laboratories, plants, and sites who execute or support the incident response missions for which the Department is responsible.
NEST’s missions derive from a body of legal statutes, presidential policies, and international agreements, which prescribe the Department’s specific roles in responding to various contingencies. In particular, in the event of an incident involving a nuclear threat device, including an improvised nuclear device or a nuclear weapon out of state control, presidential policy requires the Secretary of Energy to perform a critical coordination role with the Attorney General (for domestic incidents) or the Secretary of Defense (for overseas incidents) to inform the President and provide assessments of potential courses of action.
NEST Assets
Although NEST has existed in various incarnations for over four decades, individual NEST assets have been operational for more than 60 years. The following NEST elements execute the full range of the Department’s countering WMD, nuclear weapon accident response, and public health and safety missions.
Joint Technical Operations Team (JTOT)
JTOT provides technical and scientific expertise along with operational support personnel in the field and at Home Team locations to support Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Department of Defense (DoD) operations to identify, characterize, and defeat WMD threat devices.
Stabilization Program (STAB)
The STAB program provides specialized training and equipment to regional FBI counter-WMD teams in over a dozen major U.S. cities, enabling rapid assessment of nuclear threat devices and identification of courses of action to defeat such devices through technical reachback during NEST operations.
Accident Response Group (ARG)
ARG scientists, technical specialists, and crisis managers rapidly deploy to the scene of an accident or incident involving a U.S. nuclear weapon or components and to assist in the resolution of the accident.
Radiological Assistance Program (RAP)
Divided into eight regions centered on DOE/NNSA laboratories and covering the entire United States, RAP personnel provide rapid response and technical advice during incidents involving radioactive materials that pose a threat to public health and safety or the environment.
Aerial Measuring System (AMS)
NNSA maintains a fleet of three fixed-wing aircraft and two rotary-wing aircraft based at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada and Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. AMS aircraft are equipped with radiation detection systems to provide measurements of air and ground contamination following a nuclear incident. AMS also perform Preventative Radiological/Nuclear Detection in support of major public events such as the Super Bowl.
Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site (REAC/TS)
REAC/TS scientists provide medical advice, specialized training, and onsite assistance for the treatment of all types of radiation exposure accidents.
Federal Radiological Monitoring and Assessment Center (FRMAC)
FRMAC a scalable, deployable federal interagency organization, initially managed by NEST, that provides verified radiation measurements, interprets radiation distributions, and characterizes overall radiological conditions during major radiological or nuclear consequence management events.
Nuclear Search Program (NSP)
NSP is the nation’s rapidly deployable scientific and technical team for Targeted Search Operations. NSP personnel are trained and equipped to detect, locate, identify, and quantify radiological or nuclear material and assess the risk for decision makers for safe and effective recovery and follow on actions.
Disposition & Forensic Evidence Analysis Team (DFEAT)
DFEAT scientists and operational personnel support FBI operations to disassemble nuclear/radiological threat devices, conduct forensic analysis, perform device assessments, and disposition such devices.
DOE Forensics Operations (DFO)
DFO scientists and operational personnel support FBI and DoD operations to collect nuclear debris for forensic evaluation following a nuclear detonation.
Capability Requirements
The operational scenarios below describe how NEST is postured and resourced to fulfill national incident response requirements. These capabilities are sustained as part of broader national response capabilities with key mission partners, including DoD, FBI, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and state, local, and/or tribal officials.
- During steady-state (non-crisis) operations, CTCP can make available NEST experts—both federal personnel and management and operating contractors—to federal, state, local, and/or tribal entities; foreign partners; and international organizations (e.g., International Atomic Energy Agency) in furtherance of national security and public health and safety objectives.
- During the early stages of a nuclear threat or incident, NA-80 may deploy NEST assets in a tailored manner to key mission partners and DoD Combatant Commands. NEST personnel would support contingency planning and potential or actual response operations while leveraging the Department’s cadre of overseas officers at U.S. embassies and liaison officers at DoD Combatant Commands. NEST may also activate remote technical assistance capabilities depending on the severity of the incident.
- During an operation to counter a confirmed or suspected nuclear/radiological device, an accident involving a U.S. nuclear weapon, or the discovery of material out of regulatory control requiring emergency removal, NEST will stand up Home Team capabilities to provide remote technical assistance to partners on a timeline consistent with their operational capabilities and requirements (i.e., NEST will be ready to receive and assess data as soon as it is available). NEST will have the capacity to deploy personnel to support a single full-spectrum operation, to include disposition and forensic exploitation at fixed DOE facilities in support of event attribution, while maintaining coverages as directed in national policies.
- Following a release of radioactive materials (e.g., nuclear detonation, deliberate radiological dispersal, reactor accident, or other incident involving a radiological release), NEST will provide timely, credible technical support to public health and safety officials on a timeline consistent with the availability of data from federal, state, local, tribal, and/or international partners. NEST will provide technical assessments and guidance; gather and organize radiological data; collect samples for forensics analysis; and provide other scientific support as needed. In the case of a nuclear detonation, NEST will perform post-detonation functions to exploit collected data in support of attribution. Prior to the cessation of operations, NEST will transition incident management and/or stewardship of the impacted area to appropriate authorities .
Status
NA-80 continues to evaluate and adjust NEST’s operational posture as the nationwide impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic continue. Although the health of the NEST workforce continues to be a high priority, we remain mindful of the responsibility to perform critical national security and public health and safety missions, including its continued ability to execute incident response capabilities as described in PMEF #2.
Major Decisions/Events
Provide Nuclear Incident Response Briefings to Senior Departmental Leaders
As part of the transition process, briefings for the new DOE and NNSA leadership teams will be required to outline the Secretary’s responsibilities according to presidential policy in the event of a nuclear or radiological incident .
Provide Nuclear Threat Briefings to Senior Departmental, Interagency, and White House Leaders
As the office responsible for administering the SIGMA 20 caveat, CTCP provides nuclear threat briefings to the senior leaders of DOE and NNSA, select interagency partners (e.g. the Department of State, DHS, and DoD), the National Security Council, and the White House, including the President and Vice President.