CBRNe News October 2008
Gwyn Winfield examines the latest news in the world of CBRNE
Industry Watch
Jail Bird
Niels Jurgen Tobiasen, an ex-employee of the now defunct CBRN Team, pleaded guilty to paying a £40,000 bribe to Ugandan Presidential Advisor Ananais Tumukunde. Niels pleaded guilty to trying to pay a bribe and was convicted, Crown Prosecutors allege that Mr Tobiasen transferred criminal property - namely chemical and biological weapons to the Ugandan defendants.
Technological Senator
Carl Levin, Chairman of the Senate of the Armed Forces and US Senator, visited Avon Protection systems premises in Cadillac and declared himself ‘impressed’ by the ‘highest imaginable technology’ that he saw. Avon are supplying the M50 to US forces and are keen to create jobs in the region.
Discovering the buried explosive
Battelle are keen to promote the use of their airborne sensor package for the detection of buried unexploded ordnance – and presumably buried IEDs too. The sensor can fly anything up to 3 metres from the ground at speeds of up to 105km/h – depending on the size/type of target being scanned for. Battelle has performed over 30 airborne geophysical surveys over 20,000 hectares of DoD property. The system can use electronic or magnetic systems and can provide positional accuracy better than 0.2metres for detected anomalies.
Smiths Detection News
Smiths announced that they would be providing Advanced Air Cargo Security Equipment for Lufthansa Cargo at all of its 19 US airports. Lufthansa would be deploying the Ionscan 500DT as an explosive trace detector. Lufthansa is following directives set down by the TSA to ensure that all cargo aircraft are scanned. They also launched their FirstView iSC3 (Intelligent Sensor Command, Control and Communication) platform for controllable cameras and sensors at critical infrastructure. Currently in use by the DHS and DoD, it can integrate legacy systems - CBRNE, Access Control, Video, CCTV etc - to allow a seamless security package. HPRID, their High Performance Radio Isotope Identifier, was also unveiled at the ASIS show.
HPRID allows the user to differentiate between benign radiation and ‘threat’ radiation, even if the latter is hidden behind a ‘hot’ source of the former. HPRID utilises three detectors, a sodium iodide crystal, a neutron detector and a GM tube, the latter alerts on high levels of rad, while the former detectors allow identification of isotope. When utilised with Symetric’s ‘Discovery’ technology, a isotope identification system, it is able to detect shielded threats.
In a busy month for Smiths they also launched their MMTD - Multi Mode Threat Detector. MMTD is an explosive, narcotics and chemical detector that can also be used to detect peroxide explosives and will provide results in less than 10 seconds.
The device uses an IMS detector that is able to switch polarities that allow it to see a greater range of agents – these can be processed either via a swab, or through an air-intake. Finally, there was the launch of new Sabre Centurion II, which allows CWA and TICs detection. Centurion II is a fixed site IMS detector that can be networked with up to 70 other sensors and the FirstView system. Centurion II is supposed to be easier to maintain than it’s predecessor and comes with an extended library.
MSA News
MSA launched two new products this month too. The first was their Altair 5 multigas detector, which also has a motion alert sensor fitted. The latter, when enabled, allows a ‘man down’ alarm if there is no movement for more than 30 seconds, and only has three buttons for ease of use with thick gloves. It’s miniature catalytic combustion sensors will detect 100% of combustible gases and its electrochemical duo-tox hydrogen sulphide/carbon monoxide sensor also allows another sensor slot - such as ammonia, chlorine, phosphine or cyanide etc.
MSA also launched their AirHawk II respirator, which is mainly for industrial applications, but is a low cost product with the option of using advanced features such as twin Advantage canisters and an audible end of service time indicator.
Threat Watch
Shades of Sverdlovsk...?
A village in Russia’s Ural region has imposed a quarantine due to an anthrax outbreak. 10 residents of the village have been hospitalised in the Bashkortostan Republic. There is currently no suggestion as to how the individuals were infected, but anthrax is still endemic in rural societies. In 1979 anthrax spores were accidentally released from the Biopreperat lab in Sverdlovsk that resulted in the deaths of approximately 100 people - it was later traced to one of the most virulent strains of anthrax - 836.
The system works...
A Texas man, Jeffrey Detrixhe, pleaded guilty, and faces 25 years in prison for trying to sell a 25-gallon drum of sodium cyanide. What Detrixhe didn’t know was that he was selling it to a FBI agent - along with a thermal imager and assault rifle (surely no true Texan could be without an assault rifle?) - for $10,000. This is good news all round, hopefully the message will go out to all the various nuts and criminals that are trying to make a buck out of ‘WMD’ that there is a good chance of getting caught.
The threat works...
Hussam Khader, the Fatah leader recently released from a six year prison sentence in Israel, commented that the next intifada will not be fought with stones and suicide bombers, but with missiles and possibly chemical weapons. As is often the case possession is not the whole solution, and without a tested delivery system it is difficult to see what results the intifada will get - apart from international condemnation...
Russian muscle
Following on from the flexing and posturing that has followed the interceptor agreements in Poland, and the conflict in Georgia, Russian President Medvedev has announced plans to build a guaranteed nuclear deterrent system by 2020. There are plans for a new family of nuclear submarines and new types of armament. While part of this is clearly for home consumption it will be interesting to see whether the Russian’s can procure, build and test a new family of nuclear sub in just 12 years!
Toxic lessons
As an interesting side note for those involved in Military Civil Cooperation especially on deployed operations - is the fate of the chemicals at Bhopal. 24 years ago the Union Carbide plant in northern India leaked and killed over 3,000 people, with a subsequent 15,000 deaths. In the intervening years 390 tonnes of toxic waste has accumulated and remains there as there are no takers to dispose of it.
The Indian Defence Ministry led the ‘horse’ of National Institute of Disaster Management to the trough, but it declined to ‘drink.’ Dow Chemicals, which now owns Union Carbide, has denied responsibility for cleaning up the site, as the facility sits on land owned by the State Government. What lessons does Bhopal have for military forces involved in MACA and TICs?
Please forward any items for consideration in this section to the editor, Gwyn Winfield This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it