Register Now … March 19-20, 2008 Renaissance Washington, D.C., Hotel Sponsored by the DHS Office of University Programs of the Science and Technology Directorate Major discussion topics regarding university research for homeland security will include: Border & Maritime Security Chemical & Biological Security Communications Interoperability Explosives Detection & Mitigation Human Factors Infrastructure Protection International S&T Priorities To RSVP for the University Network Summit, please register online at:

www.orau.gov/DHSRESummit08/

Boys in the Hood

From this…

…to this. The Avon EH-15 is a hood that offers protection for 15 minutes from chemical and biological particulates.

When first responders and security guards came to the DHS Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate’s Tell-Us-What-You-Need table, heading their list was an emergency escape hood worthy of James Bond. It must be, they said, a one-size-fits-all concealable hood weighing under a pound, folding to the dimensions of a DVD case, and donable in ten seconds. Moreover, the hood must be maintenance-free, and it must filter nerve, blood, and blister agents, remove toxic industrial chemicals, and fit two-deep into a breast pocket—one for the protectee, the other for the protector.

It was a pretty tall order.

Unlike Kevin Costner’s Bodyguard, the typical bodyguard finds his daily routine, well, routine. But the moment it’s not, the guard needs tools that are convenient, stealthy, and swift. Chemical and biological attacks can be accidental, but if a particular protectee is in a particular place, at a particular time, and comes under attack, it’s usually not a coincidence. Chances are good that those in the business and those they are protecting are not carrying around those undeniably unglamorous heavy masks or hoods for the possibility. Perhaps the S&T Directorate could come up with something better.

Done. In less than a year.

Through the Directorate’s open procurement process, Avon Protection Systems of Wiltshire, UK (with offices in Cadillac, MI), was selected in early 2007 to develop and produce a mask with some very tight specifications. Designated the EH-15 (for Escape Hood–15 minutes), this innovative mask, when packed, is only ¾-inch thick. It provides at least 15 minutes of protection against chemicals and biological agents, has a three-year shelf life, and has highly efficient particulate filters.

…Jalal Mapar, who manages the Escape Hood project, says the device can provide protection to both the guard and the protectee.

In October 2007, the EH-15 successfully passed the Directorate’s Design Review. In February, it will complete its Critical Design Reviews, followed by a demanding test process in March 2008. To date, 10 prototypes have been produced, and the first batch of EH-15 masks is to be produced by May.

If the Escape Hood passes its rigorous design reviews next month, it will get ready for external validation. If the hood is successfully validated, Avon will deliver more than 200 prototypes in October.

“Crime in this country has indeed included weapons of mass destruction…witness the anthrax attacks in 2001,” notes Jalal Mapar, the program manager for the EH-15 project. “A concealable escape hood like this will provide protection for both the guard and the protectee until both can get out of a dangerous situation. It was one tough assignment, but I’m glad that we were able to develop such a unique mask technology in such a short time.”

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The Smaller, the Better

If you’re a first responder, the size of your equipment matters.

The LACIS project could revolutionize hazmat and emergency response. Below are two of the early prototypes, which are being field tested by Battelle.

Case in point: Chemical detection. When firemen or EMTs arrive at the scene of a reported chemical release, some questions need immediate answers: “What class of chemical—if any—are we facing?” “What are the odds that we and others around us will be exposed?” “What type of personal protective gear should we use?”

Without a chemical detector handy, first responders are often going by best estimates and the accounts of eyewitnesses. It’s just not practical, or timely, to bring in large and cumbersome detectors to get a reading on the situation.

But what if first responders had in their toolkits a handheld system for detecting and analyzing chemicals? It would be easy to carry, battery operated, and spot-on accurate. It would also be affordable, requiring little maintenance and simple training.

This is the goal of the Lightweight Autonomous Chemical Identification System (LACIS). Under development with funding by the DHS S&T Directorate, LACIS could very well revolutionize hazmat and emergency response.

“We’re aiming for a device that could be used by all first responders,” says Angela Ervin, the program manager for the project. “They’ll be able to identify the chemical hazard and measure its concentration, in real time, when they arrive at the scene.”

Three performers are working to deliver a LACIS prototype: Sensor Research and Development Corporation, Smiths Detection–Edgewood, and a Purdue University/Griffin Analytical team. The detectors will weigh less than five pounds, use conventional batteries, and cost about $2,000 or less per unit. They’ll be designed to avoid false alarms, and they’ll enable first responders to identify a large number of vapor hazards, including the most dangerous toxic industrial chemicals and chemical warfare agents.

LACIS will help first responders to determine—with confidence—what kinds of equipment to don, what levels of hazmat and medical support are needed, and how long they should wait before cleanup can safely begin. If the situation is considered severe or questions about chemical contamination persist, state or Federal reinforcements could then be called in. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency operates, for instance, a DHS-funded fleet of mobile chemical laboratories (“Science on Wheels,” October 2007 Snapshots).

The next phase for the LACIS project is more rigorous and independent field testing of the prototypes, which is slated to begin this summer at Battelle Memorial Institute. “Our goal over the next two years is to evaluate the detectors in real-world environments,” says Ervin, who hopes to have a product on the market within three to four years.

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Wireless Stakeout

Police in Southern Arizona are taking to the streets equipped with a new handheld technology. It’s all part of a growing statewide program known as AZLink, which was developed with funding from the DHS S&T Directorate.

AZLink lets officers and fellow good guys—including agents, detectives, and sheriffs—find, read, and share mug shots, incident reports, and other law enforcement data…in the field, from their smartphones. Eventually, officers will be able to access information from all law enforcement agencies, right from the palm of their hand. The Transportation Security Administration and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are also exploring uses of the technology.

Using AZLink on a hand-held smartphone (left), an Arizona law enforcement officer can rapidly get the goods on a suspect, including photos and incident reports. When the going gets dangerous, the officer can use AZLink’s map overlays (right) to gain “situational awareness.”

The program marks a significant step toward improving information sharing among emergency responders nationwide. Before AZLink, law enforcement agencies in Arizona could access critical criminal data, but only from police radios or computers at headquarters. This new system exchanges secure data through the public’s cellular phone network, saving both time and resources.

AZLink Southern Arizona is administered by the Tucson Police Department and is already generating success stories. Officers and investigators recently used smartphones to look up criminal histories and comb through police reports in real time—helping them to arrest a murder suspect and suspects of fraud and aggravated shoplifting.

Zona officers love it. Said one field account, “The instant color photos and warrant hits were extremely important to officers on the scene [of a ‘shots fired’ call] in determining who the suspects were. Also, one of the subjects had multiple outstanding warrants, which allowed us to hold and make arrests.”

“AZLink places information and graphics in the hands of officers on scene, at point of contact,” says Bruce Baicar, who manages the project for the S&T Directorate’s Command, Control, and Interoperability Division. “This is critical for officer safety during on-the-street operations as well as intelligence sharing. We expect to see more success stories as AZLink transitions the program into more regions across the state.”

Based on the technology’s performance on the front lines—including tests at last month’s Fiesta Bowl in Glendale—the Directorate intends to provide more than 200 AZLink-enabled wireless devices to at least 20 law enforcement units across Arizona. These units will be at the local, tribal, state, and Federal levels.

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S&T Snapshots is a monthly newsletter produced by the DHS Science and Technology Directorate in partnership with the Homeland Security Institute. HSI is a Studies and Analysis Federally Funded Research and Development Center.