• RadPRO SecurPASS from Virtual Imaging

    As worries about security increase, more venues require employees, customers, and visitors to pass through security scans; the scanning machines at the growing number of security check-points must meet two criteria: they should be able to detect a wide variety of materials and objects, and should do so at the lowest radiation dose possible; Virtual Imaging, a wholly owned subsidiary of Canon U.S.A., Inc., says its RadPRO SecurPASS meets these two criteria

  • New questions raised about full-body scanners

    Aviation security experts say the machines may miss items that metal detectors catch; airline passengers may also be able to hide materials in the groin or body cavities; critics do not dispute that the imaging technology is superior to metal detectors at finding hidden nonmetallic objects, but some say it should be used only in conjunction with metal detectors and other technologies

  • U.S. lab center of information gathering effort in the event of nuclear terror

    In a laboratory on the edge of the vast Nevada desert, U.S. officials would gather some of the first critical information that could affect the lives of millions in the aftermath of a nuclear terrorist attack in an American city

  • U.K. police raids companies selling explosives "divining rods"

    A British company made millions of dollars selling hand-held explosives “divining rods” to Iraqi security forces; despite scientific evidence that the device was a hoax., the Iraqi army and police kept using millions in U.S. aid dollars to buy the worthless gimmick and equip check-point personnel with it; in February the British government banned the production and sale of the device, and last week the police raided three companies for exporting fake bomb detectors

  • Plastic lasers shed light on hidden explosives

    Detecting hidden explosives is a difficult task but now researchers in the United Kingdom have developed a new way of detecting them, with a laser sensor capable of detecting molecules of explosives at concentrations of 10 parts per billion (ppb) or less

  • Green decontaminants to breaking down chemical weapons

    New products developed non-toxically to decontaminate nerve gas, mustard gas, radioactive isotopes, and anthrax. The formulas are based on ingredients found in foods, cosmetics, and other consumer products

  • Study explores the use of terahertz sensors

    New work into the ability of nanometallic or plasmonic structures to concentrate light into deep-subwavelength volumes holds a promise of new applications for terahertz sensors for improving optical sources, detectors and modulators for optical interconnections, and for creating biomolecules

  • UN: Iran has fuel for two nuclear weapons

    IAEA says Iran has enough nuclear fuel for two nuclear weapons; the toughly worded IAEA report says that Iran has expanded work at one of its nuclear sites; it also describes, step by step, how inspectors have been denied access to a series of facilities, and how Iran has refused to answer inspectors’ questions on a variety of activities, including what the agency called the “possible existence” of “activities related to the development of a nuclear payload for a missile”

  • A good nose for explosives

    There is a new breed of explosive-sniffing dogs: vapor—wake dogs; genetically bred and trained by Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, vapor-wake dogs are taught to detect the scent plume of air that comes wafting off a person, such as a suicide bomber, wearing an explosive device

  • Scientists raise health questions about full-body scanners

    A group of scientists from the University of California-San Francisco wrote the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, saying they fear that the scanners may expose the skin to high doses of X-rays that could increase the risk of cancer and other health problems, particularly among older travelers, pregnant women and people with weak immune systems

  • Bureaucratic hurdles delay NYC dirty bomb defenses

    NYPD says that since last fall, it has been trying to obtain an $8 million federal grant for a radiation detection system which would instantly read data from 4,500 sensors in cop cars across the region to intercept vehicles carrying explosive devices; NYPD is still waiting

  • U.K. firm investigated over sale of dirty bomb material to Iran

    British company sells cobalt aluminate; the material can be used to produce alloys as well as the lethal radioactive isotope cobalt 60; for this reason its sale to nations like North Korea and Iran is tightly limited; cobalt is considered by nuclear experts as more likely to be used in a dirty bomb than in a nuclear warhead

  • The threat of nuclear terrorism against Israel

    Former Israeli deputy national security adviser writes that the threat of nuclear terrorism Israel faces may be more likely to materialize than an Iranian nuclear attack on Israel — should Iran acquire nuclear weapons; he recommends a staunch and uncompromising deterrence policy, based on “retaliate first, no questions asked” — and a study of potential targets of high value to al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations which would be destroyed in a retaliatory attack

  • Russia plans to install explosives detectors in metro

    Russia will install explosive detectors in train stations in major cities; the sophisticated security system will be installed by 2014, and will feature security checkpoints at entrances in all transportation hubs, registration of all passengers, and ID-verified sales of tickets on all means of public transport, including inter-city buses

  • Dolphins, sea lions find explosives, cuff and restrain hostile divers

    The annual Golden Guardian homeland security and disaster preparedness exercise was an occasion for U.S. Navy-trained dolphins and sea lions to demonstrate their superior skills in locating underwater mines and hostile divers; the animals not only detect mines and divers in murky waters — they also demonstrated their dexterity in cuffing and restraining hostile divers while signaling for help from their human counterparts