An HSDW conversation on hazmat detection with Frank Thibodeau, vice president, Bruker Daltonics NBC Detection Corp.

manufacturer, and verified by independent agencies, the rugged 7-pound instrument will detect and identify an exceptionally wide range of vapors including toxic industrial agents (TIC) and chemical warfare agents (CWA).

“Identification is key,” Frank Thibodeau, vice president, Bruker Daltonics NBC Detection, told HS Daily Wire. “Many detectors will find low levels of seepage. But if the operator doesn’t know what it is, the right action can’t be taken.” For the purposes of hazardous materials detection on-the-move, Thibodeau is not overly concerned with the origins of the danger. “Innocent” seepage detected during border-entry screening is not different in kind from the terrorist-generated variety: hazardous materials hidden in a car, with malicious intent. “Concealed or not, a container leaking toxic chemicals is a threat to the population,” he said. “Either way, the substance sets the first responders to the same task. They need to know where it is and what it is, in that order. The detector has to be sensitive. And it has to be specific.”

The RAID-M has been tested at such facilities as the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory; the U.S. Army’s Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC); and the Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA ETV report (available online) declares: “[The RAID-M] was 100% accurate in identifying the TIC being sampled under almost all conditions.” Canada Customs reported that the false alarm rate was only 0.6 percent during field trials of the RAID-M with a complex mixture including interferents. The RAID-M verifiably detects agents including GA, GB, GD, GF, VX, HD, HN, L, AC, CG, CL₂, TDI, SO₂, CY, CN, and CS; the list is not exhaustive. Citing the importance of notifying others, Thibodeau noted that connectivity via Wi-Fi, cellular, Internet, or hotspot is available as optional equipment. With this capability, the RAID-M instantly imparts critical information to authorized parties at any distance from the hazmat emergency in a fully compliant and inter-operative manner.

At this point, questions of liability would likely arise for state and local agencies and other typical customers for the RAID-M. But Thibodeau points out that many of these, together with their clients, enjoy important immunities under the Safety Act. DHS permits Bruker to market RAID-M as a Safety Act Designated and Certified technology on the list of Approved Products. This device and two other Bruker products are the only chemical detectors to receive Safety Act certification. “It took a long time to get that certification, but it was worth the wait,” Thibodeau said. “Everybody knows the DHS runs a very stringent validation program. Its stamp of approval is reassuring to the buyer.” Asked what, if anything, defeats the RAID-M, Thibodeau said that the biggest challenge is high volume. “It’s tough to get through a big shipment,” he said. “For chemicals in transport, the instrument gauges the level of leakage around the containers. The results will be accurate and reliable, but the procedure is time-consuming.”

Tested extensively at European and U.S. government laboratories, the RAID-M was found to have detection levels in the low parts per billion for nerve and blister agents and certain toxic industrial chemicals. Moreover, very little instruction is needed — “It has a learning curve of seconds,” said Thibodeau — and operation is not hampered by full personal protective gear. Given that level of performance plus usability, the RAID-M might appear to have reached its full potential as a first-response instrument in chemical accidents or attacks, but the manufacturer continues the work of improvement. Each culprit agent has a unique ion signature, which is compared to the onboard spectral library maintained on the RAID-M’s hard drive. “We’re constantly extending that range of dangerous vapors,” Thibodeau said. “There are hundreds of chemicals that can sicken and kill. We want to enable the homeland security professional to detect and identify more of them at one time.”

Bruker Daltonics NBC Detection was formed in February 2005 from Bruker Daltonics Inc. to market CBRNE instruments in North America and to manage U.S. government programs. As the primary lead for federal programs, Bruker Daltonics NBC Detection. draws from diverse Bruker companies for development, manufacture, marketing, and delivery of CBRNE instruments including such technologies as FTIR, XRF, IMS, and GC/MS. Bruker has provided research and development to the Autonomous Rapid Facility Chemical Agent Monitor program of DHS since 2004. Primary R&D and manufacturing facilities are in the United States and Germany. The parent company is Bruker Corp., traded on NASDAQ under the symbol “BRKR.”