A law's uneven spoils: a certification process to protect companies from liability in the development of anti terrorism products and services appears to favor big firms at the expense of small ones

Risk & Insurance, Sept 1, 2004 by Ann Deering

Small business owners were excited when the SAFETY Act was signed into law last year. They thought they had government largesse coming to them related to the development of new technologies to protect U.S. soil.

Under the law, businesses are allowed to develop anti-terrorism products under a certification program sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security The designation means businesses work with minimal exposure to liability claims, benefit from federal insurance protection and have access to federal court jurisdiction.

But in June, DHS awarded its first certifications Guess who ended up on the list? Defense contractors Lockheed Martin Corp., Northrop Grumman and Teledyne Brown Engineering.

Lockheed is developing a computer system that provides terrorism threat analysis. Northrop Grumman's biohazard detection system analyzes samples to detect biological threats. It is already in use at post offices.

Teledyne Brown's "water sabre" is a high pressure water jet designed to cut through metal, similar to a blow torch, to allow bomb squads access to a container

Applying for certification is turning out to be slow and expensive. It takes more than 60 hours to submit the requisite paperwork Receiving certification takes months. DHS officials say they are streamlining the approval process so that applications will be "reviewed within 21 days."

Passed by Congress in 2002 and signed into law last year, the Support Antiterrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies Act provides "risk management and litigation management protections for sellers of qualified anti-terrorism technologies and others in the supply and distribution chain."