Government to develop hand-held rad detectors

Manufacturing & Technology News, Oct 10, 2006

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has awarded $22 million in contracts to develop pocket-sized radiation detectors. The agency awarded 27-month contracts under a competitive solicitation to General Electric Global Research, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Smiths Detection of Pasadena, Calif., to develop prototype devices that detect the source of radiation and discriminate between normally-occurring radioactive materials, background and potential threats.

Border patrol agents, customs and Coast Guard officers and other law enforcement agencies "will know in real time if they confront a security or safety risk from a device that fits in the palm of their hand," says Vayl Oxford, director of the Homeland Security Department's Domestic Nuclear Detection Office.