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AS&E adds to summer sales numbers with $42 million explosives detection deal
Z Backscatter Van continues to hold U.S. government’s attention; deal follows a series of multi-million dollar deals with U.S. and Middle Eastern nations; price includes training, service, and labor warranty
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Carbon nanotubes may reduce reliance on nuclear materials
The most pressing nuclear risk is the one involving a dirty bomb: Nuclear materials are used for routine operations by tens of thousands of commercial establishments, requiring a vast system of shipment, handling, and storage; many of these facilities, and practically all of the shipping procedure, are but loosely guarded, if that, offering easy targets for terrorists intent on obtaining the material; would that we had a technology which would reduce our reliance on nuclear materials; Applied Nanotech believes it has such a technology
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JMAR receives Army small business award
Phase II award to finance further development of LIBS spectrochemical hazard analysis technology; laser-based approach ideal for troops in the field; toxic substances a constant threat in Iraq
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American Science and Engineering signs service contract for ZBV X-ray system
Despite recent worries about explosive detection industry, DHS moves forward with long-term deals; unnamed agency purchased eight ZBV vans last month
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Doctors group assails DHS radiological planning
Physicians for Social Responsibilty says DHS has no plan to evacuate communities downwind from a dirty nuke attack; field emergency plans inadequate; DHS says report “lacks a grasp of reality”
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Guardian Technologies, DHS in R&D deal
TSI will test company’s PinPoint explosive detection technology; success will mean operational testing in airports; company recently permitted to export technology overseas
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Parsons, along with eleven other companies, receives nuclear waste advanced remediation technology contract
Company will further develop its Continuous Sludge Leaching and New Tank Cesium Removal technologies; total value of six-month contracts is $3.3 million
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Solution for tracing explosives in compact electronic items
What do laptops, medical devices, and cameras have in common? they are characterized by small size and sophisticated internal components; tracing explosives hidden in them is thus difficult; TraceGuard is developing a solution specifically aimed at sniffing explosives hidden in such devices
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The consequences of one nuclear bomb smuggled into a port in a container
A RAND study says that a 10-kiloton nuclear explosion at the Port of Long Beach could kill 60,000 people instantly, expose 150,000 more to hazardous radiation, and cause ten times more economic loss than the 9/11 terrorist attacks
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London arrests should prompt interest in fluoroscopic detection system
In tests conducted in spring 2004, TSA found that, compared with X-ray machine systems, screeners using the fluoroscopic system from Golan Group were more likely to detect IEDs — especially those “artfully concealed”; it is time to consider to act on the study’s conclusions
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Smiths Detection wins contract to supply Army robot with chemical detector
Army will fit iRobot PackBot with Smiths’ Lightweight Chemical Detector (LCD); tests to continue in Alaska
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TVI announces selection as decontamination system provider for DoD
The contract under the Defense Guardian Installation Protection Program is worth $490,000; company will deploy proprietary fabric shelter structures
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TSA fights back against charge that X-rays can not stop shoe-bombers
At a press conference yesterday, officials defended themselves with X-ray images of shoes with and without bombs; the difference was easy to see, they said
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Liquid explosives a known problem for Chinese authorities
In two incidents, passengers doused airline cabins with gasoline; one died after the plane went up in flames, the other was subdued after demanding transit to Taiwan
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More headlines
The long view
‘Risks of Nuclear Terrorism Are High and Growing.’ New Tools, Alliances, Renewed Focus Needed, experts recommend
By Cyrus Moulton
For roughly 80 years, the United States has managed the threat of nuclear terrorism through nonproliferation treaties, agency programs, intelligence activities, international monitoring support and more, withstanding the Cold War, the fall of the Soviet Union, and 9/11. A National Academies committee wants to ensure the U.S. remains prepared.
Evaluating U.S. Readiness to Prevent, Counter, and Respond to WMD
Two new reports review the adequacy of U.S. strategies to prevent, counter, and respond to the threat of nuclear and chemical terrorism and highlight the strengths and limitations of U.S. efforts to prevent and counter threats from weapons of mass destruction (WMD), particularly in a changing terrorism threat landscape.