Acting Director of the National Investigation Service Marian Marinov met with representatives of the Second Line of Defense Program of the US Department of Energy in connection with a donation of the portable "Backpack" type detector system from the American side for the needs of the National Investigation Service.
The spectroscopic backpack enables the examination of large areas during the investigation of radiological crime scenes and accident scenes with spectroscopic identification of detected nuclear and/or radioactive materials in real time. Its availability would significantly increase the quality of the investigation, as well as the safety of the investigative officers of the National Investigation Service.
The equipment donation is provided under the Second Line of Defense program, an international initiative of the U.S. Department of Energy to assist partner countries. It is implemented in accordance with the Memorandum of Cooperation between the Republic of Bulgaria and the U.S. Department of Energy, according to which Bulgarian institutions receive donated equipment to detect, prevent, and intercept the illicit trafficking of nuclear and other radioactive materials.
The cooperation between the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Bulgaria, the National Investigation Service and the US Department of Energy is part of the joint efforts to counter the illegal trade and transfer of radioactive substances internationally. Under the "Second Line of Defense" program, the Bulgarian investigation has already received hand-held radioisotope identifiers and personal radiation detectors of the "Pager" type for detection and identification of potentially dangerous nuclear and radiological materials and for inspection of people, cars, trucks and other means of transport.