• TSA moves to deploy new screening technology

    TSA says it is moving aggressively to deploy new advanced technology (AT) airport security systems jointly produced by Smiths Detection and Rapiscan; TSA is also kicking off the procurement process for next-generation explosive detection system machines.

  • Former OSU student turns professors’ research his business

    Two OSU professors developed a nanotechnology-based ink that changes color when it detects a certain type of explosive, and then neutralizes it; an OSU business student made the professors’ invention his business – literally – founding a company aiming to develop the commercial potential of the invention

  • Smiths Detection and Analogic to develop new EDS

    Companies will use their complementary expertise in multi-energy X-ray technology and three-dimensional Computed Tomography (CT) to develop a detection system to be manufactured by Smiths Detection.

  • LAX to receive $150 million for security upgrade

    TSA announced a $150 million funding for improving the baggage security system and speed up lines at LAX terminals; award is part of $670 million security funding for LAX and LA/Ontario International Airport

  • The solution for Jamaican ports’ security problems: Change the scanners; consolidate security duties

    Security in Jamaica’s ports has suffered as a result of antiquated scanning equipment and the fragmentation of security responsibilities; the director of customs want to make changes on both fronts

  • Scientific conference in India to focus on explosives and advanced propellants systems

    Explosive detection is a pressing issue for military leaders and law enforcement, a challenging issue for scientists and researchers, and a growing and attractive field for businesses and investors; leading Indian research organizations host a major conference on the subject

  • MBTA holds drill to prepare for a chemical or biological attack

    Scientists hold week-long drill inside the tunnels and stations of the Boston subway system to test the effectiveness of biological and chemical sensors, the test the speed of spread of chemical and biological toxins, and develop evacuation plans.

  • Romania receives radiation detectors

    The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration provided Romania with radiation detectors for Romanian border crossing; shipment is part of the agency’s Second Line of Defense Program provides foreign nations with radiation monitoring devices and equipment training

  • Power glitch, natural radon caused TMI alarm

    Naturally occurring radon and a power glitch caused radiation monitors to sound false alarms at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant; still, more than five hours passed before state officials were made aware of the incident; the incident severity, however, did not approach the level that would have required Exelon, under federal rules, to notify state emergency officials within fifteen minutes

  • Market for counter-IED technologies growing

    Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are a significant threat in many conflict zones, most notably in Afghanistan and Iraq; the United States has spent billions of dollars on IED countermeasures, but still IEDs are a number one threat to U.S. military personnel in the theater; there is a large market for IED countermeasures and defense, with leading and developing countries worldwide investing steadily in those products

  • Air cargo still vulnerable to terrorists

    DHS’s inspector general says there are many problems still with the TSA’s program to stop terrorists from sneaking a bomb into any of the tens of thousands of cargo packages carried each day in the bellies of passenger planes

  • Nuclear leaks at Three Mile Island investigated

    There was another radioactive leak at Three Mile Island, the scene of the U.S. worst nuclear power accident; NRC said on Sunday there was no threat to public health or safety; investigators this weekend were trying to determine the cause of radiological contamination inside the nuclear facility’s containment building

  • Predicting the effect of a nuclear weapon dropped on an urban area

    Current models of nuclear effects use wind direction and wind speed to draw a predicted cone-shape area of fall-out; new research results show that these models are too simple in some ways — for instance, they do not include the complex dynamics of wind movements around buildings, which can concentrate fall-out preferentially in certain areas

  • GE Global Research to develop wearable RFID chemical sensor

    GE Global Research will develop a wearable radio-frequency-identification (RFID) sensors to alert people to the presence of chemicals in the air; as the sensors can be made at a size smaller than a penny, they could form part of an identification badge that would provide an early warning for people about the presence of chemical agents

  • NASA develops chemical-detection app for iPhone

    NASA’s Homeland Security Cell-All program has developed an intriguing application to Apple’s phone in the form of a stamp-sized chemical sniffing device; the prototype chemical sensor can sniff small amounts of chemicals like methane, ammonia, and chlorine gas