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New materials hold promise for better detection of nuclear weapons
Researchers have developed new materials that can detect hard radiation, a very difficult thing to do; the method could lead to a hand-held device for detecting nuclear weapons and materials, such as a “nuclear bomb in a suitcase” scenario
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Detecting contraband radioactive material
Researchers are building a highly sensitive instrument that will detect illicit radioactive materials with pinpoint accuracy from a safe distance; such materials, located in shipping ports, train stations, truck stops, or warehouses, potentially could be used to make dirty bombs or associated with a nuclear device itself
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Sector Report for Monday, 12 September 2011: Detection
This report contains the following stories.
Plus 1 additional story.
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University lab focuses on deadly natural biological agents
In the decade since the Center for Biological Defense at the University of South Florida opened, the research facility has shifted its focus from man-made biological agents to detecting natural biological threats
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$1.1 million order for Implant Sciences' portable explosives detectors
Implant Sciences Corporation, a developer of explosives detection technology, recently announced that it had received a $1.1 million order for its portable explosives detection systems; with the latest purchase, Implant Sciences will supply its Quantum Sniffer QS H-150 portable devices to the Middle East for use by critical infrastructure operators
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General Dynamics to integrate CBRN device in Army radios
General Dynamics C4 Systems announced last week that it will work with U.S. Army researchers to install wireless-networking chips on radios that can also detect the presence of dangerous chemicals on the battlefield
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TSA: Aviation security "stronger and more secure" ten years later
Lisa Farbstein, a spokesperson for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA); discusses new technologies implemented by TSA and DHS and the agency’s shift to a more risk-based approach to passenger screening
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Innovative plastic slashes cost of radiation detectors
Japan’s Teijin Chemicals announced it will begin supplying scintirex, an innovative low-cost radiation-fluorescent plastic, in late September; scintirex will be used in scintillators — the material at the core of radioactive radiation detectors; the use of the new plastic will slash the production cost of scintillators to one tenth or less of current levels
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Microbes clean up nuclear waste -- and generate electricity
Researchers have discovered how microbes generate electricity while cleaning up nuclear waste and other toxic metals; the microbes effectively immobilize the radioactive material and prevent it from leaching into groundwater; the discovery could benefit sites changed forever by nuclear contamination
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Simple solution for removing arsenic from water
Almost 100 million people in developing countries are exposed to dangerously high levels of arsenic in their drinking water, unable to afford complex purification technology; scientists developed a simple, inexpensive method for removing arsenic based on chopped up pieces of ordinary plastic beverage bottles coated with a nutrient found in many foods and dietary supplements
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Germany says "nein" to full-body scanners
Germany has decided against deploying full-body scanners at German airports; after a 10-month trial, in which 1,280,000 passengers were scanned, the government said that the false alarm rate was just too high
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Teams dispatched to inspect Vermont nuclear plant following Irene
Following the torrential rains from Hurricane Irene on Sunday, federal officials have dispatched inspection teams to examine the aging Vermont Yankee nuclear plant to ensure that the plant has not been compromised; the plant has the same design as the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan which suffered a partial meltdown following the 11 March earthquake and tsunami
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Sector Report for Monday, 29 August 2011: Detection
This report contains the following stories.
Plus 1 additional story.
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Radiation detection market to see accelerated growth
The radiation detection industry will see accelerated growth as a result of ongoing homeland security concerns to greater concerns about safety in the nuclear power industry; the growth will involve both increases in the volume of materials required, and in the types of materials being sought
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Detecting bioterror attacks
About 80 percent of the U.S. population lives in the thirty largest cities in the United States; the government has deployed a secret system of biosensors to detect bioterror attacks; the location of the sensors, and the pathogens they search for, are kept secret so terrorists would not be able to tamper with the sensors or evade them (officially, even the list of cities where the system is deployed is kept secret)
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The long view
What We’ve Learned from Survivors of the Atomic Bombs
Q&A with Dr. Preetha Rajaraman, New Vice Chair for the Radiation Effects Research Foundation in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.