ITS Plus shows dirty bombs, suitcase nukes solution

In the near future terrorists are much more likely to use a dirty bomb than a fully functional nuclear bomb, so it is good news that Plano, Texas-based ITS Plus, a specialist in transportation mobility and homeland security, has completed a live trial to detect the presence of dirty bombs and suitcase nuclear devices at a major U.S. airport. ITS Plus uses a scintillation/probe radiation detection device to detect gamma and neutron radiation. It conducted the trial with the permission of airport police and security departments. The trial provided for real-time monitoring of automobile traffic flow, and more than 600,000 vehicles were successfully screened during the month-long trial.

“The trial’s purpose was to prove that we could utilize long range sensors to detect materials used in dirty bombs and suitcase nukes. It was critical that we do this without setting off any false positives from radiation used in medical treatments such chemotherapy or stress tests,” said Michael Hutchison, president of ITS Plus. “These nuclear sensors are proactive and can be used to thwart a potential event before it occurs.”

The detonation of a dirty bomb is what we would define as a high-concept-low-tech event: The technology is no more sophisticated than a simple pipe bomb with a timer, but the consequences — real and psychological — are much more dire. Depending on dosage, whether conditions, and wind pattern, even a relatively small dirty bomb with a long half-life isotope could shut down a major airport or a city block for months (in some cases, for years). Trouble is, unlike nuclear fusion material such as enriched uranium or plutonium, the dirty bomb isotopes are readily available from the medical, food, and petroleum industries — and these materials are not well monitored or safegurded.

-read more at ITSPlus Web site