Detection

Canberra shows Falcon 5000 portable radiation detector
The company has more than four decades of experience in radiation measurements of all kinds; the Falcon 5000, a portable radionuclide identifier for first responders, determines whether there is a radiation source present, the location of that source, and which isotopes are emitting the radiation
- Read more
Abu Dhabi International Airport buys two CTX 9000 DSi EDS
GE Security claims its EDS is the world’s most widely deployed inline checked baggage explosives screening solution; it is certainly popular at Middle East airports
- Read more

Study: U.S. needs better ways to evaluate radiation detection systems
Current radiation detectors placed at U.S. ports cost about $82,000 each and have a high false-alarm rate; DHS wants to buy 800 new detectors, at a cost of $360,000 each, but lawmakers and experts say that before this money is spent, there should be a better way to evaluate the effectiveness of the new systems
- Read more
IAEA: More nuclear sleuths needed
Two U.S. scientific associations recently concluded that the number of U.S. nuclear smuggling experts is dwindling to a point at which U.S. national security would be affected; the IAEA says the same is true for the world as a whole
- Read more

Researching new laser and sensor technology
New materials would allow laser light to be generated in ranges that are not currently accessible; “These lasers could be used for sensing such as in detecting environmental conditions in a building,” says Binghamton University’s professor Oana Malis; “There are defense applications as well”
- Read more
New U.K. nuclear plants to fund eventual decommissioning
New U.K. nuclear power station operators will be required to set aside money for their eventual decommissioning and waste costs
- Read more

ICx to develop battlefield biodetection device
ICx will use the research and development capabilities of Mesosystems Technologies in New Mexico, a company it had acquired in 2005, to develop a biodetection system to be used on the battlefield; new device will be made for continuous air monitoring in outdoor settings
- Read more
TSA lab's new concept in airport security: Tunnel of Truth
Futuristic vision of airport security would see passengers stand on a conveyor belt moving under an archway as different sensors scan them for weapons, bombs, and other prohibited items; no need to take the shoes off; by the time they step out of the tunnel, they have been thoroughly checked out
- Read more

AMTRAK buys explosive detectors from Smiths Detection
AMTRAK will use the SABRE 4000 to screen passengers, carry-on baggage at train stations and on trains for explosives
- Read more
Scientists urge U.S. to stop using caesium-137, a dirty bomb ingredient
About 1,300 machines at U.S. hospitals and universities used for irradiating blood for transplant patients and other purposes contain caesium-137; individuals or groups eager to detonate a dirty bomb in a U.S. city could steal this caesium chloride and combine it with conventional explosives such as dynamite to produce a dirty bomb or radiological dispersal device
- Read more

U.K., U.S. in tighter collaboration on nuclear threats
United Kingdom invests an initial £2 million to secure high-risk nuclear and other radioactive materials and combat their illegal trafficking
- Read more
Uranium smugglers caught on India-Nepal border
Indian police arrests six individuals trying to smuggle low-grade uranium from India to Nepal;
- Read more

Number of U.S. nuclear smuggling experts to shrink
There are between 35 to 50 experts in the United States specializing in identifying smuggled nuclear materials and nuclear bomb components; trouble is, about half of them are set to retire in the next fifteen years, and the pipeline of young researchers who could replace them are nearly empty; scientific organizations call for action
- Read more
Analysis // by Ben Frankel: U.S. still fighting for sanctions on Iran, but with a weaker hand
The Bush administration shot itself in the foot by releasing a confusing and partially misleading intelligence assessment of Iran’s nuclear weapon activities; the administration dealt a near-fatal blow to the effort to intensify economic sanctions on Iran, instead creating a situation in which the world will either have to accept a nuclear-armed Iran or go to war to stop it
- Read more
Diminished strategic focus caused lax Air Force nuclear security
Last year, six nuclear-tipped missiles were flown by mistake from North Dakota to Louisiana; it took more than thirty-six hours for the Air Force to discover the mistake, or even realize that nuclear missiles were missing
- Read more

More headlines