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New fingerprint reading method detects explosives, drugs
Boilermakers researchers develop a system which can detect traces of explosives, drugs, or other materials left behind in fingerprints — and can also distinguish between overlapping fingerprints left by different individuals
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UNDT provides anthrax detection gear to Beijing Olympics
Universal Detection Technology delivers anthrax detection equipment to Beijing; the detection equipment is capable of detecting not only anthrax, but also ricin toxin, botulinum toxin, plague, and SEBs
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New DNA sequencing techniques convince FBI of Ivins's culpability
Since 2001 techniques for sequencing microbial DNA have vastly improved and there has been a massive effort to sequence more anthrax samples
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NIST tighten rules after plutonium spill in lab
On 9 June about 1/4 gram of powdered plutonium spilled from a vial at a NIST lab in Boulder, Colorado; an investigative committee found that a failure in the safety management system was exacerbated by a “casual and informal research environment that appears to have valued research results above safety considerations”
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TSA testing shoe scanning technology
he Transportation Security Administration is testing show scanning machines from L2 Communications; this is a step toward eventually allowing passengers to keep their shoes on when they go through the security checkpoint
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People power is new weapon against Olympic terrorism
In addition to the latest anti-terrorist technology, the city of Beijing is enlisting the city’s 15 million citizens as anti-terror eyes-and-ears for the coming Olympic Games
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Smiths Detection expands German facility
To meet growing demand for its Advanced Threat Identification X-ray (aTiX) systems, Smiths Detection opens a 4,000 m2 production facility in Wiesbaden, Germany
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WHO, IAEA is simulated nuclear accident drill
The World Health Organization and the International Atomic Energy Agency collaborate in a nuclear accident drill at the Laguna Verde nuclear power plant in Mexico
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GAO strongly criticizes DoE over Hanford clean-up
More than 210 million liters of radioactive and chemical waste are stored in 177 underground tanks at Hanford in Washington State; most are more than fifty years old; GAO says there now “serious questions about the tanks’ long-term viability”
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French authorities ban water use following nuclear leak
Safety agencies in France are playing down the risk to public health from Tuesday’s uranium leak at the Tricastin nuclear plant, but water-usage bans have worried skeptical residents and environmental organizations
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UC researcher helps develop device to detect explosives
Researchers from the University of California-Riverside and the University of Connecticut develop hand-held electronic device that can detect the presence of explosives in high-risk areas where bomb-sniffing dogs are now the best tools for detection
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Breakthrough: Universal detection system
Livermore researchers work on developing a universal detection system — a system that can monitor the air for virtually all of the major threat agents that could be used by terrorists: biological, chemical, explosives, and radiological — along with illicit drugs
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Smith Detection shows peroxide vapor detector
Peroxide is used in many household chemicals — and by terrorists; Smith Detection shows a hand-held detector which allows for fast detection of IEDs; military and airline industry are primary markets
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Super-sensitive explosives detector
Innovative explosives detector can detect explosives at distances exceeding 20 yards; the technology is a variation of photoacoustic spectroscopy but overcomes a number of problems associated with this technique
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MoD: The risk of nuclear warheads' "popcorning"
Light-weight but extremely sensitive high-explosives are use to envelop the plutonium core of nuclear warheads; these explosives trigger the implosion which causes a nuclear reaction to happen; U.K. Ministry of Defense is worried that these explosives are so sensitive, they may explode if warheads are dropped to the floor or bump each other, triggering “popcorning”
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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.