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Millimeter-wave imaging comes to Cleveland, Houston airports
TSA expands its testing of millimeter wave and backscatter imaging systems, deploying them in Cleveland and Houston; TSA claims passengers’ privacy is guaranteed, but passengers can opt out of being screened and choose body pat instead
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Breakthrough: Radiation protection drug developed
American and Israeli researchers developed a drug which offers protection from radioactive radiation; the drug uses proteins produced in bacteria found in the intestines to protect cells against radiation; the FDA is expected to approve the drug within a year or two
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Hair examination can help in tracing terrorists
U.K. researchers devise a test which uses laser to determine the recent whereabouts of an individual by analyzing hair strands
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Scientists work on creating robot-insects
Researchers in the field of insect-machine hybrids believe the day is not far when police could release a swarm of robot-moths to sniff out a distant drug stash, and rescue robot-bees would dodge through earthquake rubble to find survivors
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Inkjet printer technology to be used in biosensors
Researchers describe a method for printing a toxin-detecting biosensor on paper using a FujiFilm Dimatix Materials Printer; the method relies on a “lateral flow” sensing approach similar to that used in a home pregnancy test strip
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Cities need to prepare for a home-made nuke
An explosion of ten kiloton nuclear bomb in a city would be disastrous; as catastrophic as such an attack would be, it would not level an entire city, and a timely response could save many lives
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New way to make sensors that detect toxic chemicals
Ohio State University researchers use extremely pure, very small metal-oxide nanoparticles to make materials for gas sensors that detect toxic industrial chemicals (TICs) and biological warfare agents
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Experts: local and regional approach better for addressing radioactive waste
The Obama administration has stopped funding for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, so experts say it is now time for a regional and local approach to solving the nuclear waste problem
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GAO finds major security flaws at federal buildings
Undercover investigators sneaked bombs and detonators past security guards and into federal buildings occupied by DHS, Justice, and State departments; the investigators were able to assembled the bombs, carried them in a briefcase and “walked freely around several floors”
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NYPD deploys mobile radiation detectors
DHS gives the NYPD three SUVs equipped with sophisticated radiation detectors; each monitor cost $450,000
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Ground-penetrating radar helps border patrol to spot tunnels
DHS researchers place radar antennas in a trailer which is towed by a Border Patrol truck; the antennas shoot a signal directly into the ground and use it to construct a multi-colored picture of the earth; tunnels show up as red, yellow, and aquamarine dots against a blue background
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U Michigan students develop portable device to detect suicide bombers
Wolverines engineering graduate students develop a small, light, cheap, and effective IED and suicide-bomber detector; the detectors are designed to be part of a wireless sensor network that conveys to a base station where suspicious objects are located and who might be carrying them
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GAO unimpressed with new radiation detectors
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommended further testing of next-generation radiation detectors; at more than $800,000 apiece, the new devices cost nearly 300 percent more than the machines in operation
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NYC to receive $50 million for radiation detection
The House approves the homeland security appropriation bill — with three Republican amendments; one of them, offered by Rep. Peter King of New York, added $50 million to restore funding for the Securing the Cities program, created to place radiological and nuclear sensors around New York City
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Trust but verify, II
British and Norwegian scientists ran the first field trials of a device that could solve the problem of reliable verification: a gamma ray detector linked to a hand-held “information barrier”
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The long view
Keeping the Lights on with Nuclear Waste: Radiochemistry Transforms Nuclear Waste into Strategic Materials
How UNLV radiochemistry is pioneering the future of energy in the Southwest by salvaging strategic materials from nuclear dumps –and making it safe.
Model Predicts Long-Term Effects of Nuclear Waste on Underground Disposal Systems
The simulations matched results from an underground lab experiment in Switzerland, suggesting modeling could be used to validate the safety of nuclear disposal sites.