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The day of the "iSniff" nears
Pocket-size pollution sensors hold promise of big improvement in monitoring personal environment; wearable sensors to be used for identifying air-borne causes of disease
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Mafia's new business: sinking nuclear waste at sea
The Sicilian Mafia had muscled in on the lucrative business of radioactive waste disposal; to increase the profit margin, mafia operatives blow up and sink the ships at sea rather than process the nuclear waste on board
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GAO: FEMA not ready for nuclear, radiological attack
GAO: “FEMA has not developed a national disaster recovery strategy or related plans to guide involvement of federal agencies in these recovery activities, as directed by federal law and executive guidance”
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Electronic nose detects toxins
Physicists have radiation badges to protect them in the workplace, but chemists and workers who handle chemicals do not have equivalent devices to monitor their exposure to potentially toxic chemicals; new electronic nose will change that
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Smiths Detection to unveil new millimeter-wave scanner
The company’s new eqo scanner increases throughput and occupies only a fraction of the floor space of conventional scanners
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NIST researchers develop more sensitive explosives detection method
NIST researchers develop a simple method for detecting and measuring small quantities of explosives which is more sensitive than conventional techniques
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New NIST trace explosives standard slated for homeland security duty
NIST, with support from DHS, has developed a new certified reference material — Standard Reference Material (SRM) 2905 (Trace Particulate Explosives)
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Saudi suicide bomber hid IED in his anal cavity
A al-Qaeda-affiliated Saudi suicide bomber, carrying explosives in his anal cavity, managed to get close to the Saudi deputy interior minister and detonate himself (the minister was unharmed); analysts fear this may be a new method of carrying explosives on a plane
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Using lasers in nuclear decommissioning
High-power lasers could remove contaminated surfaces of concrete and cut up metal pipework and process vessels inside nuclear reactors, or other contaminated environments
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Using waste to recover waste uranium
Researchers find that a combination of bacteria and inositol phosphate can be used to recover uranium from the polluted waters from uranium mines; method may be used to process nuclear waste
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Radiation is a constant presence in our lives
The normal radiation we are exposed to causes the following: For every 100 million people, there will be 4,100 fatal cancers, 2,500 nonfatal cancers, 4,600 genetic defects (not all of which are obvious); for every additional mrem per person per year, the above rates will increase .67 percent
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ThermoDyne helps organizations comply with HSPD-7
The need to comply with Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD-7) will open 9,000 federal buildings as market for Mail Defender; this, the company and recession-weary Elkhart, Indiana, hope, will create hundreds of new, long-lasting jobs
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Ad hoc network for CBRN sensors for soldiers, first responders
Following an incident like an attack, explosion, or fire, soldiers and first responders would collect air-quality data, sample it, and transmit threat-level information to keep others out of harm’s way; analysis of the data at a center would give commanders actionable information useful in developing an effective response
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TSA: Airport security lines moving faster
Better scanning technologies, clearer procedures at checkpoints have reduced wait times down to ten minutes
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Implant Sciences explosive detection tech attracts $1.2 million
Massachusetts-based Implant Science may have problems at home — the company received notice from the New York Stock Exchange of plans to delist the company’s stock from its Amex exchange owing to lack of compliance — but the company landed $1.2 million from a government agency in China for its explosive detection technology
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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.