DETECTION DEVICES FOR HAZMAT

Role of Specific Air Monitoring and Detection Devices in Terrorist Related Hazardous Materials Incidents

Role of Specific Air Monitoring and Detection Devices in Terrorist Related Hazardous Materials Incidents

Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)/Hazardous Materials Response and Decontamination are the capability to assess and manage the consequences of a hazardous materials release, either accidental or as part of a terrorist attack. It includes testing and identifying all possible hazardous substances onsite; making sure that responders have protective clothing and equipment; conducting rescue operations to confiscate affected victims from the hazardous environment; conducting geographical survey searches of suspected sources or contamination spreads and establishing isolation perimeters; mitigating the effects of hazardous materials, decontaminating on-site victims, responders, and equipment; coordinating off-site decontamination with relevant agencies, and notifying environmental, health, and law enforcement agencies having jurisdiction for the incident to begin implementation of their standard evidence collection and investigation procedures (WMD/HazMat Response and Decontamination, 2009)

In 1990 the President's Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism, formed in response to the bombing of Pan American Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, suggested that the FAA pursue an increased program of research, development and deployment to offset the terrorist threat to the civil aviation system. This mandate was come to life in the Aviation Security Improvement Act of 1990. In 1997, the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security noted that "The terrorist threats are changing and growing. Therefore, it is essential to improve security not just against familiar threats, such as explosives in checked baggage, but also means of assessing and countering rising threats." (National Research and Development Plan for Aviation Safety, 1996)

The FAA Aviation Security Research and Development Service maintains laboratories and research programs exploring advanced technologies applicable to (1) enhanced scanning of luggage; (2) improved devices for walk-through and hand-held equipment to screen passengers for weapons; (3) better image processing and decision-making by screening personnel, including fully automated devices; (4) explosive trace detection technologies for next generation systems; and (5) means of hardening aircraft against explosions. The FAA has long been a world leader in research addressing weapons and explosives detection.

A rapidly-emerging area of concern is information security, which can range from protecting mission-critical computers against intrusion and disruption to countering the possibility of "cyber-warfare"-malicious attacks intended to disrupt or damage the functioning of public infrastructure, or to cause large numbers of casualties. The increasing use and criticality of computer-based communications and information technologies has created a whole new set of threats and challenges with which the aviation system must contend. While this concern can be addressed largely through the application of technologies, tools, and practices being developed by other industries, it is very important that it be well understood. The basic elements of computer security cut across all applications, but their manifestations in aviation must be carefully assessed and countered in the design and upgrading of NAS systems and through a variety of operational programs (National Research and Development Plan for Aviation Safety, 1996).

The DoD has great expertise in several areas central to ...