March 27, 2006 -- The Texas border remains at risk as U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers allow radioactive material to get through.

A new report says undercover government investigators were able to slip radioactive material across the border in both Texas and Washington state during a test, late last year.

The investigators purchased a "small quantity" of radioactive materials from a commercial source, according to a Government Accountability Office report. But the material was enough to create two 'dirty bombs.'

Radiation alarms at the unidentified ports of entry did detect the small amounts of Cesium-137, a nuclear material used in industrial gauges.

But CBP officers permitted the material to enter because they were tricked by counterfeit documents.

This has lawmakers, like New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, concerned.

Richardson said, "Well, it shows that dirty bombs are just as big a problem as loose nukes in Russia. The key message here is we have to ensure that our border is secure. That's why we need more Border Patrol agents, better detection equipment, more radiation detection equipment, aerial monitors. This is very serious, and it's not just Mexico, it's Canada. It shows that dirty bombs - terrorists - can move beyond borders. Just the security expenses that we need at the border for this detection equipment is crucial, especially now during this immigration debate."

The report, along with two others by the GAO on the subject of smuggling and detection of nuclear materials, were provided to reporters by congressional sources in advance of the first of two hearings by the subcommittee scheduled to begin Tuesday.

The focus will be on what the federal government has done to protect the country against nuclear terrorism.

Meanwhile, the Bush administration says within 45 days it will give CBP officers the tools they need to verify such documents in the future.

Our affiliate partner CNN contributed to this report.