Nuclear Emergency Support Team

President Gerald Ford was warned, and a team of experts from the United States Atomic Energy Commission rushed in, but their radiation detection gear arrived at a different airport.

An unknown group called Omega mailed an extortion threat claiming they would explode containers of radioactive water all over the city unless they were paid $500,000 (equivalent to $2,677,000 in 2023).

[5][6] One of the more high-profile responses in NEST’s early history took place in August of 1980 when several men planted a sophisticated bomb containing 1,000 pounds of dynamite at Harvey's Resort Hotel in Stateline, Nevada.

In addition to explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) personnel from the FBI, NEST experts were brought in to assist in diagnosing and defeating the device.

NEST personnel with expertise in atmospheric modeling, aerial measuring, and health physics were deployed to Japan shortly after the disaster occurred.

The scientific advice that NEST provided during this emergency was crucial to informing the responses of both the U.S. and Japanese governments to protect public health.

[9] When an airborne response to an incident is underway, the Federal Aviation Administration grants NEST flights a higher control priority within the United States National Airspace System, designated with the callsign "FLYNET".

[19] Since its initial creation, the detection equipment has been improved and now data can be processed accurately enough to aim in on the activity of any single nuclear element desired.