Detection
DHS wants to hear from hand-held detector vendors
January 5th, 2009
DHS is looking for vendors that will improve its abilities to detect both contraband and trace chemicals, explosives or biological agents hidden within personal items, luggage or packages.
In two separate Requests for Information (RFIs), DHS's Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate outlined its general needs for two types of hand-held, portable and rugged detectors – one focusing on such contraband as weapons and the other on trace chemicals, etc. The response deadline for both RFIs is Jan. 16.
In each case, S&T asks vendors to provide, at their own cost, a "demonstration unit" for an experiment to be conducted in February. That experiment will last no longer than one week and will be conducted at a venue still to be determined.
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Ahura updates Raman instrument
January 5th, 2009
Product update - Wilmington, MA-based Ahura Scientific, Inc., the provider of hand-held instruments for chemical identification, has completed a software update for its flagship FirstDefender, a Raman instrument for rapid, field-based identification of unknown solid and liquid chemicals, including narcotics, toxic industrial materials, explosives and so-called "white powders," among others.
"Raman spectroscopy" is a laser-based analytic technique similar to infrared spectroscopy. With the latest iteration of FirstDefender, Version 2.6.4, Ahura has expanded the number of compounds in its on-board chemical library, broadened foreign language capabilities and introduced a new scan delay feature.
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UDT's anthrax detection equipment sold to CBP
January 5th, 2009
Anthrax detector - Universal Detection Technology (UDT), of Los Angeles, CA, has received a purchase order for its anthrax detection equipment from U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Air and Marine Operations division.
The detection equipment can return results in as few as three minutes, the company says.
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Multi-gas detector from MSA
January 5th, 2009
New product - Pittsburgh, PA-based MSA, which bills itself as the safety company, is offering the Altair 5, a portable five-gas detector with MotionAlert and InstantAlert features.
MotionAlert, when enabled, activates a “man down” alarm if no motion is detected for 30 seconds.
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U.S. Navy plans to use dolphins and sea lions to detect underwater terrorists
January 5th, 2009
The U.S. Navy is considering a program that would deploy Atlantic bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions to detect terrorists or other intruders swimming on the surface or underwater toward ships, submarines and other critical assets located at sensitive naval bases.
NIST’s “phantom” mannequin used to test metal detectors
January 4th, 2009
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a “phantom” mannequin which simulates the mass and height of the average American male adult so it can be pushed through a walk-through metal detector and help determine how effectively the detector can discriminates between weapons and innocuous objects.
Tampa man sentenced for 'material support to terrorists'
December 26th, 2008
A Tampa, FL, resident was sentenced last month to 15 years in prison for providing "material support to terrorists."
The defendant, Ahmed Abdellatif Sherif Mohamed, a resident of Tampa and a native of Egypt, entered a guilty plea to the charge last June.
According to the court record, the original bust happened simply because Mohamed was speeding.
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Gallagher Security Management Systems to exhibit at Fencetech
December 22nd, 2008
The exhibitor list at the Fencetech 2009 show, coming up in New Orleans on January 14-16, will include Gallagher Security Management Systems, the Sanford, FL-based company which handles North American and South American sales for 70-year old fence manufacturer, Gallagher Group, which is headquartered in New Zealand.
