Livermore Lab introduces card-based explosives detection system

The market for portable explosives detection systems shows no sign of consolidation, so there is still plenty of time to introduce a new player to the game: the award-winning Lawrence Livermore Lab’s ELITE (Easy Livermore Inspection Test for Explosives) card, a disposable 5- by 7.5-centimeter card that weighs approximatly one ounce and can detect trace amounts of up to thirty explosives. Marketed by Florida-based Field Forensics, the cards — which cost a mere $10-20 each — have been sold to such security agencies as DHS, the New York State Police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Queensland (Australia) Police. Aside from the card’s detecting skill, buyers have found its long shelf life among its most desirable deatures. “We developed a reagent formulation with a dramatically improved shelf life,” said the lab’s John Reynolds. “E.L.I.T.E. units have a much longer service life than comparable products.”

How it works: As with similar systems, the user removes a swipe from the card and rubs it on a suspicious surface — a bag, car trunk, or suitcase — before then sliding it back into the ELITE. “Instructions are printed right on the card, so user error is largely eliminated,” said Reynolds. The user then ruptures two sealed ampoules that contain the developing chemicals. (Unlike other systems, which require the user to handle the reagents themselves, the ELITE reagents are self-contained in each card, so users are never exposed to the chemicals). A few drops of the reagent flow onto the swipe through microchannels fabricated in the card’s plastic case. Within a minute, an explosive trace, if present, will appear as a brightly colored spot on the white swipe. Most importantly, the color and intensity of the spot indicate the type and concentration of the explosive found. Once the test is complete, the ELITE card can be easily disposed of without special handling.

-read more in this lab news release