• Airport screening specialist Reveal Imaging acquired by SAIC

    SAIC acquires Reveal Imaging Technologies of Bedford, Massachusetts; Reveal was founded in 2002 in response to the U.S. government’s mandate for aviation security screening after the attacks of 9/11. The company has developed imaging technologies for screening airport baggage and detecting explosives in checked luggage

  • New explosives detection technologies show promise

    An adversary who is willing to die trying to carry out a mission is one of the reasons why more conventional security organizations find it so difficult to pursue their protection mission effectively in an asymmetrical war — the kind of war terrorists engage in; new explosive detection technologies may be of help

  • Better to teach old dogs new tricks

    DHS recently announced that it wants to buy 3,000 dogs from breeders — at a cost of $4,535 per dog — to increase its force of canines who sniff out explosives, cash, and drugs; since only 20 percent of dogs who are selected for service programs successfully complete the training process, this plan will actually result in breeding 15,000 dogs, of which 12,000 will end up in shelters; one expert offers an alternative: DHS should follow the lead of the Hearing Ear Dog Program and many police departments and fill its ranks with dogs adopted from shelters

  • U.S. nuclear weapons detection skills, capabilities deteriorate

    The world is increasingly worried about nuclear weapons proliferation, so it is not good to read that a National Research Council (NRC) report warns of “concerns” over deteriorating U.S. expertise in detecting and investigating nuclear weapons; the shortage of nuclear forensics specialists could have dire consequences says the NRC: “Beyond the terrible loss of life, which in itself is difficult to appreciate fully, the successful detonation of one or more nuclear explosives in a U.S. city and the potential for more detonations could transform our nation into a national security state, focused on common defense to the detriment of the justice, general welfare, and blessings of liberty envisioned by our nation’s founders”

  • Detecting sticky bombs

    Sticky bombs — explosives affixed to a car, which explode when you turn the ignition key — as the stuff of movies dealing with the Mafia, but terrorists used them as well (as do the secret services of some countries); researchers at Argonne National Laboratory offer a way to detect surreptitiously placed sticky bombs

  • New radiation mechanism may ward off oil spills, terrorism

    New radiation mechanism in the terahertz range could be used to destroy cancer cells, track miniscule traces of explosives hidden under clothing, and trace and potentially destroy specific chemicals that damage the environment and our bodies

  • TSA wants more bomb-sniffing dogs to protect air, ground travelers

    The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) wants to increase the role dogs play in sniffing out terror threats at U.S. airports and other mass transit systems; TSA requested $71 million from Congress to train and deploy 275 explosives detection canine teams — bomb dogs and their handlers — at transportation facilities

  • Many ways to smuggle nukes into the United States

    The United States focuses on scanning shipping containers for nuclear smuggling; with nearly 10 million cargo containers arriving in the United States by sea or on land each year, this is a difficult task; the GAO says this is not enough, and that the government must find ways to keep an eye on 13 million recreational boats and 110,000 fishing vessels which go in and out U.S. sea ports — and also on freight trains, which are often more than three kilometers long

  • Airports, carriers face additional costs as a result of 100 percent cargo inspections

    On 1 August, 100 percent of air cargo carried on passenger planes in the United States must be screened for explosives and other illicit materials before the cargo is placed on the plane; this is up from the current level of 75 percent; DHS has already said it would not meet this deadline, but carriers are worried about the added cost nonetheless: electronic screening equipment is expensive, with some units costing as much as several hundred thousand dollars

  • Breakthrough: day of terahertz remote sensing nears

    Terahertz (THz) wave technology, has great potential for homeland security and military uses because it can “see through” clothing and packaging materials and can identify immediately the unique THz “fingerprints” of any hidden materials; a major breakthrough opens the way for detecting hidden explosives, chemical, biological agents, and illegal drugs from a distance of twenty meters

  • TSA will miss 1 August air cargo screening deadline

    TSA will miss the congressionally mandated 1 August deadline of having 100 percent of cargo carried on planes screened; all cargo loaded onto passenger planes departing from domestic airports will be checked for explosives by the deadline, but screening all international cargo entering the United States has proved more challenging; the reason: an estimated 2.8 billion pounds of air cargo arrives in the United States every year on passenger aircraft from 94 different countries; the cargo is handled in the global air cargo supply chain by a vast number of participants; each of these 94 countries has unique air cargo security programs and regulatory requirements, many of which differ significantly from those required by TSA

  • China's nuclear reactors to use technology rejected by U.S., U.K. as unsafe

    Ten of China’s proposed nuclear power reactors will use Westinghouse’s AP1000 advanced technology; the United States rejected the AP100 design, saying key components of the reactormight not withstand events like earthquakes and tornadoes; the United Kingdom indicated it, too, would reject Westinghouse’s new reactor because it could be vulnerable to terrorist attacks

  • Scientists: Full-body scanners' radiation underestimated, could pose cancer risk

    More and more scientists express their unease with the amount of radiation to which passengers are exposed as they are screened by full-body scanners at airports; experts say radiation from the scanners has been underestimated and could be particularly risky for children; they say that the low level beam does deliver a small dose of radiation to the body, but because the beam concentrates on the skin — one of the most radiation-sensitive organs of the human body — that dose may be up to 20 times higher than first estimated

  • U.S. has no plan to keep nuclear bomb materials from crossing border

    In 2006 the George W. Bush administration announced a $1.2 billion project to deploy thousands of scanners for screening vehicles and cargo at U.S. ports to block the importation of radioactive materials that could be used to make a bomb to protect the United States; the scanners — known as the advanced spectroscopic portal (ASP) machines — proved a failure, and in February, following one setback after another, officials abandoned full-scale deployment of the machines; GAO says that the attention and resources invested in the ill-fated ASPs delayed the creation of a “global nuclear detection architecture” to protect the United States

  • Airport security is big business, and Rapiscan Systems benefits

    Airport security is serious business and, increasingly, it is also big business; TSA plans to deploy as many as 1,800 full-body scanner at U.S. airports by the end of 2014; at $170,000 a scanner, this is a $300 million proposition