CBRNE | Detection

A study of the outbreak of E. coli that killed 50 people in Germany last summer and sickened thousands has yielded some clues about the emergence and spread of infectious diseases.

While protections for nuclear plants from possible terror attacks have improved dramatically since 9/11, a report by a group of nuclear scientists said there is plenty of room for more enhancement in new reactor and plant designs in the coming years.

A multi-agency enforcement operation organized under a U.S. interagency effort to combat trans-border threats netted nine suspects, an AK-47 assault rifle and 498 pounds of marijuana on Feb. 1 near Interstate 8 in Stanfield, AZ.

Three Mexican nationals were sentenced on Feb. 3 to 10 years in federal prison for a marijuana growing operation based in the sprawling, thickly-wooded Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in northern Wisconsin.

Cesar Tinoco, 21, Abraham Ramirez, 29, and Jorge Lopez-Ontiveros, 25, all citizens of Mexico, had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture marijuana charges last November.

An old coral-covered cannonball forced the evacuation of the checked baggage area at Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport the week of Jan. 30, said TSA, after its discovery in a diver’s baggage.

The weapon’s discovery resulted in an evacuation of the airport’s checked baggage area and flight delays for almost 300 people, said the agency. The owner of the cannonball didn’t have any malicious intent, TSA said, and had collected it as a souvenir during a diving trip on a shipwreck.

The Transportation Security Administration is set to deal with tens of thousands more passengers travelling through Indianapolis International Airport before and after Super Bowl XLVI with additional screening lanes.

As their boss touted this year’s Super Bowl as one of the most secure in history, U.S. customs agents were busy extending protections beyond the physical venue and into intellectual property on the Web, seizing Websites selling fake National Football League gear and busting apparel and souvenir counterfeiters.

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano announced on Feb. 1 a partnership with the NFL to expand the agency’s “If you see something, say something” public awareness campaign.

The leaders of the Senate Homeland Security Committee welcomed news from the GAO that trade sanctions against Iran seem to be working to limit that country’s ability to support nuclear and terror activities.

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-CT), ranking member Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) hailed a new report issued by the Government Accountability Office on Feb. 1, which they said showed progress in isolating Iran through trade sanctions.

Building Protection Systems, Inc. (BPSI), of San Francisco, CA, announced on Feb. 1 that another building owner has chosen BPSI’s next generation Alpha Sentry One toxin detection system to protect critical executives and employees at an undisclosed headquarters building in the Midwest.