Marines begin upgrade of Smith Detection’s chemical identifiers

HazMatID 360

Smiths Detection has announced that the U.S. Marine Corps will shortly begin installing the company’s HazMatID 360 upgrade to its fleet of chemical detectors as part of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force Assessment and Consequence Management (MAGTF ACM) program for chemical agent identification systems. The upgrade maximizes system capabilities and performance in the most cost-effective way, says a press release issued by Smiths Detection on August 27.

Smiths Detection’s HazMatID is a ruggedized device that provides comprehensive in-field analysis and identification of unknown solids, gels and liquids. It enables HazMat teams, military personnel and emergency responders to quickly identify potential chemical threats and make decisive life-saving decisions in response.

Bob Bohn, vice president of sales for the Americas at Smiths Detection, said, “With thousands of HazMatID systems in use across the world, the 360 upgrade allows current users to update their capabilities of in-field threat identification without having to retrain personnel or purchase additional equipment. In this time of fiscal responsibility, the Marine Corps will be updating its chemical detection technology and also maximizing previous investments.”

The upgrade includes optimized mixture algorithms, larger substance libraries, chemical hazard classification for not-in-library substances, easy-to-connect Bluetooth wireless communications, and integrated PEAC-WMD software by AristaTek, which provides critical information management and decision support.