The Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) Office was established in December 2017 by consolidating primarily the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, a majority of the Office of Health Affairs, as well as other DHS elements.
For current information related to CWMD, please visit the following:
The Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) is mandated by Congress to set Technical Capability Standards (TCSs) and implement a test and evaluation program for preventive radiological/nuclear (Rad/Nuc) detection equipment in the United States.
The Graduated Rad/Nuc Detector Evaluation and Reporting (GRaDERSM) Program evaluates commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) Rad/Nuc detection equipment against national consensus standards adopted by the Department of Homeland Security and TCSs.
Mission
Identify radiation detection products that comply with standards and satisfy Homeland Security mission requirements- Enable federal, state, local, tribal and territorial agencies to make more informed radiological/nuclear detector procurement decisions
Objectives
- Provide infrastructure for the collection of high integrity test data
- Use National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) lab accreditation process to confirm test lab capability and competence
- Identify instrument categories, applicable standards, reporting protocols and compliance levels
- Become a self-sustaining testing program
- Manufacturers pay for voluntary testing by NVLAP accredited labs on their own schedule
- Labs submit for and maintain accreditation
- Standardize instrument testing procedures and presentation of test results to assure valid and easily interpreted comparisons
- Develop government post-market surveillance program to track products already evaluated under the GRaDER program
Please let us know how we are doing! Email your ideas, comments and suggestions about the GRaDER program to GRaDER.Comments@hq.dhs.gov.