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Oak Ridge scientist develops anti-berrylium dust-rag
Special coating seen as a cure for industrial inhalation problems, and technology may eventually aid in large-scale radiation clean-ups; Y-12 National Security Complex conducts tests but needs help bringing it to market;
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RealityMobile offers off-the-shelf situational control system
Relying on camera phones compatible with Palm OS or Windows Mobile 5.0, RealityVision system offers commanders unparalleled remote access to personnel on the ground
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DHS offers $58 million in new anti-nuclear research grants
Domestic Nuclear Detection Office and the National Science Foundation team up to encourage research into sensors and radiation dispersal devices
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Senate to clash with House over container 100% inspection provision
The House voted to mandate 100% inspection of U.S.-bound frieght containers; a Senate panel agrees with the Bush administration that the measure would be too costly
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New York to test elaborate radiation detection monitring system
DHS will begin this spring testing an elaborate system of nuclear radiation monitoring in and around New York City; concerns persist about cost, effectiveness, and disruptions to commerce and traffic from false alarms
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Smiths Group plays its cards tight
Smiths Groups sells its aerospace division to GE for $4.8 billion, proposing investors a £2.1 billion return — and then forms a detection JV with that company, with both companies hopingt o benefit from increased spending on WMD dection
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New radiation countermeasure to be tested on humans
As worries about radiation attack by terorists — whether on a large scale, or for the killing of a single individual, as was the case in the recent London poisioning of Alexander Litvinenko — the FDA approves human trials of new radiation countermeasure from a Minnesota company
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DHS releases 2007 state and municipal grant funding levels
Urban Areas Security Initiative and Citizen Corps Program receive mild funding boosts; other programs see minor losses; DHS gives risk assessment the old college try
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UPDATE: NNSA chief fired for Los Alamos security lapses
Linton Brooks gets the axe after a series of breaches expose the weakness of lab cyber-security; failure to do away with removable storage devices in weapons-related computers cited; Energy Department starts the hunt for a replacement
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BWX fined for improperly disassembling nuclear warheads
Employees three times applied too much pressure to a W56 warhead; detonation a real possibility after safety mechanism fails; watchdog group says company forced workers to stay on the job 72 hours each week; BWX to pay $110,000, partly for not properly reporting the incidents
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Dayton positions itself as a sensor center
Ohio’s Third Frontier Commission awards $28 million for the development of a sensor technology research center; business partners include Woolpert, General Dynamics, UES, YSI, and L-3 Communications Cincinnati Electronics
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Frost and Sullivan offers report on WMD detection market
Business is booming, particularly in the federal sector; some end users, however, are shying away from the sometimes unreliable technology; research firm suggests industry needs better PR
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Russian poisoning deaths shed light on radioactive dangers
Many radioactive materials are easily bought from scientific supply companies; one retailer posts an on-line note defending polonium sales; americium from smoke detectors remains a slight risk
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DHS names six ports to kick-start the Secure Freight Initiative
Port Qasim, Puerto Cortes, and Port Salalah among the first to install radiation detection equipment; DHS allocates $60 million to buy the equipment; Dubai Ports once again in the news, but nobody has yet to complain; only 7 percent of outgoing cargo to be inspected
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Los Alamos looks to create self-disabling nuclear warheads
Under a secret three year program, scientists have been working on methods to automatically destroy a warhead if it is stolen or tampered with; though details are secret, method might involve an acid that destroys the mechanisms and contaminates the radiactive core
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The long view
What We’ve Learned from Survivors of the Atomic Bombs
Q&A with Dr. Preetha Rajaraman, New Vice Chair for the Radiation Effects Research Foundation in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.