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Griffin, ICx merge, bolstering ICx’s chemical detection offerings
ICx wanted to bolster its chemical detection division, so it merged with detection specialist Griffin
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Bruker acquires hand-held X-ray fluorescence specialist KeyMaster
The market for hand-held X-ray fluorescence devices is still small — about $90 million — but it is the fastest-growing segment of X-ray detection devices; Bruker draws the right conclusions and acquires an innovative specialist in the field
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Golan Group shows giant cargo X-Ray machine
Who says you cannot teach an old dog new tricks? This 20-year veteran in the security field is not only versatile, but it keeps adding to its capabilities and offerings, with the latest being a giant cargo scanning machine
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DHS selects New York to test new radiation detection technologies
DHS may have cut some $83 million from its anti-terror grants to New York City, but it has selected a city port to test new radiation detection technology
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DHS tests various weapon detection technologies at rail stations
The terror attacks on Mumbai trains reminded us, if a reminder was needed, of the vulnerability of public transportation; DHS conducts tests in Jersey City, Baltimore, and Atlanta for improving rail transportation safety
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Trend: Growing demand for nuclear radiation detectors •U.S. will spend more than $1 billion on new nuclear radiation detectors *•G8 launches new global nuclear tracking system
DHS has recently awarded contracts worth more than $1.1 billion for the development of new and improved devices to detect radioactive radiation; the department’s goal is not only to deploy the new machines in all the U.S. airports, seaports, and land border crossings – but also to deploy the new systems in and around major U.S. cities; in addition, the U.S. and Russia have launched an ambitious new initiative to track and monitor potential nuclear terrorists; that global initiative, too, will require new and improved technologies
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Explosive detection systems installed in truck weighing stations
A new market opportunity opens up for explosive detection systems: truck weighing stations
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CDEX applies for apparatus patent for chemical detector
A Maryland company has applied for a patent for its illegal-drugs sniffing device; the company says that the patent application is part of its plan to build on its detection technology so it could play a larger role in the growing homeland security market
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Report: Nuclear warheads could explode, release radiation while in transit
Nuclear warheads have to be inspected and refurbished regularly; to this, they are taken off the missiles and submarines where they are deployed and trucked to secure labs; the U.S. and British defense ministries insist that these warheads cannot explode as a result of accident to or terrorist attack on the convoys transporting them back and forth; a new U.K. Ministry of Defense study says this is not the case, and that a partial explosion (fizzle yield) and lethal release of radiation are possible during transit
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AS&E sells more mobile X-ray detection systems in the Middle East
AS&E develops a unique X-ray detection system which allows, among other things, for law enforcement personnel to conduct inconspicuous drive-by scanning; an unnamed country in the Middle East has just purchased several of these systems
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Ahura’s FirstDefender receives industrial design award
When companies design a homeland security piece of equipment, they typically put most, if not all, of their emphasis on the device’s effectiveness; still, a chemical detection device wins a prestigious design prize
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Modeling suggests chemical weapons can be safely buried in landfills
It is one thing to protect against and cope with a chemical attack by terrorists; but what about disposing of the chemically tainted debris in the wake of the attack? Incinerators in the United States will probably be overwhelmed; a new computer modeling study suggests that such debris can be safely disposed of in landfills
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Smiths Detection receives order for 2,000 ICAMs from U.S. military
The military buys Smiths’ hand-held detection device for nerve and blister chemical agents
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Missile market to grow to $100 billion by 2015; missiles for air defense to account for large share
Iran’s crash program to develop ballistic missiles, to say nothing of its relentless drive to build nuclear weapons, has rekindled an anxious interest in missile defenses; other aerial threats such as cruise missiles and UAVs only add to the drive for better and more sophisticated aerial defenses, offering opportunities for companies and investors
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Trend: Growing debate over safety of nuclear power plants
Worries about the rising price of oil and the degradation of the environment by fossil fuels have led to renewed interest in nuclear power plants; worries about terrorism, however, cut in the other
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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
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.