• Ohio Chemical Spill Draws Focus on Railroad Dangers

    The U.S. has one of the most extensive rail networks in the world, but diminishing safety standards puts people and the environment at risk. The latest accident has drawn sharp focus onto the safety standards of the highly profitable freight rail industry and its prolific lobbying against regulation.

  • The Train Derailment in Ohio Was a Disaster Waiting to Happen

    The derailment of a freight train filled with volatile chemicals in rural Ohio earlier this month captured the headlines, but researchers and chemical spill experts say it’s a situation that plays out far too often across the country. Trains carry hazardous chemicals everyday. They’re also dangerously unregulated.

  • Improving the Speed and Safety of Airport Security Screening

    For decades, airports around the nation have employed sensitive canine noses to detect concealed explosives. While this four-legged fleet has been effective and efficient, researchers have yet to build a mechanical method that can mimic their abilities. Researchers seek ways to build non-contact screening methods that can detect concealed explosives at airports.

  • Train Derailments Get More Headlines, but Truck Crashes Involving Hazardous Chemicals Are More Frequent and Deadly in U.S.

    Highway crash of hazmat-carrying trucks do not draw national attention the way train derailments do, or trigger a flood of calls for more trucking regulation like the U.S. is seeing for train regulation. Truck crashes tend to be local and less dramatic than a pile of derailed train cars on fire, even if they’re deadlier. Federal data shows that rail has had far fewer incidents, deaths and damage when moving hazardous materials in the U.S. than trucks.

  • How Dangerous Was the Ohio Chemical Train Derailment? An Environmental Engineer Assesses the Long-Term risks

    Headaches and lingering chemical smells from a fiery train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, have left residents worried about their air and water – and misinformation on social media hasn’t helped. The slow release of information after the derailment has left many questions unanswered about the risks and longer-term impact.

  • Train Cars Which Derailed in Ohio Were Labeled Non-Hazardous

    Nearly two weeks after a train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in rural Ohio, questions still linger about the lasting effects of the incident and the speed at which residents were returned to their homes. What we do know is that the train cars were marked as non-hazardous, and thus officials weren’t notified that the train would be crossing through the state.

  • Stoking Wildfire Resilience in Oregon

    Monitoring allows all the moving pieces of an emergency response to launch into action and for decision makers to have as much time as possible to assess and mitigate the threat. This is certainly true when it comes to wildfires. S&T is piloting smoke detection sensors ahead of the 2023 wildfire season.

  • Discoveries in Phases of Uranium Oxide Advance Nuclear Nonproliferation

    The word “exotic” may not spark thoughts of uranium, but investigations of exotic phases of uranium are bringing new knowledge to the nuclear nonproliferation industry.

  • New Generator Rolls into Ocean Energy

    Tsunamis, hurricanes, and maritime weather are monitored using sensors and other devices on platforms in the ocean to help keep coastal communities safe—until the batteries on these platforms run out of juice. The nanogenerator harnesses the energy of the ocean to power sensors and more.

  • How to Shelter from a Nuclear Explosion

    There is no good place to be when a nuclear bomb goes off. Anything too close is instantly vaporized, and radiation can pose a serious health threat even at a distance. Researchers simulated an atomic bomb explosion from a typical intercontinental ballistic missile and the resulting blast wave to see how it would affect people sheltering indoors.

  • How to Survive a Tactical Nuclear Bomb? Defense Experts Explain

    What would happen during a tactical nuclear bomb explosion, including the three stages of ignition, blast, and radioactive fallout? How one might be able to survive such an explosion?

  • Pentagon Overhauls Chem-Bio Defense

    DOD last week said it was overhauling its approach to countering chemical and biological weapons. Rather than continuing to focus on developing countermeasures for a specific list of threat agents, the Pentagon will develop measures that can adapt to a range of evolving biological and chemical threats.

  • The Center of Gravity for Chemical Threats

    DHS S&T’s Chemical Security Analysis Center (CSAC), located on the U.S. Army’s Aberdeen Proving Ground, CSAC is the nation’s only federal laboratory dedicated to assessing threats associated with large-scale chemical incidents or acts of chemical terrorism.

  • Was That Explosion Chemical or Nuclear?

    If an underground explosion occurs anywhere in the world, there is a good chance that a seismologist can pinpoint it. However, they won’t necessarily be able to tell you what kind of explosion had occurred—whether it is chemical or nuclear in nature.  New PNNL research makes it easier to differentiate between the two.

  • A New Way to Assess Radiation Damage in Reactors

    A new method could greatly reduce the time and expense needed for certain important safety checks in nuclear power reactors. The approach could save money and increase total power output in the short run, and it might increase plants’ safe operating lifetimes in the long run.