Explosive Detection
Checking suspicious material with ACRO-P.E.T
Quartz Crystal Microbalance (HF-QCM). the 7th July 2005 London bombings. detection systems.
SDT says this technology offers the The participants in the August 2006 Professor Ehud Keinan thinks that
ability to sniff-out trace levels of transatlantic plot may have planned to effective TATP detection is a huge
explosives at greater accuracy and ease use TATP in liquid bombs that would ongoing conundrum:
of use, something which is vital destroy U.S. planes flying from London “The bottom line is that TATP detection
according to SDT’s Vice President of to the United States. is an extremely difficult task. You need
Business Development Doron Shalom, TATP’s base ingredients - drain cleaner, detection machines that are different to
“Just because something has performed bleach and acetone - can be bought easily what is now available in airports. TATP
well under laboratory conditions does and without attracting suspicion; its does not have any nitrogen in it – unlike
not mean that it will be appropriate to be chemical composition is simple; and in its compounds such as TNT, nitro-glycerine,
used in every day circumstances. And finished form it is almost undetectable by PETN, HMX, Semtex etc – and most
it’s important to remember that security sniffer dogs or conventional bomb detectors are based on the presence of
screeners at airports are not scientists. nitro groups in the explosives.
It’s important for the technology “Furthermore, normal CTX machines
developers to take that into account. are based on density. The density of
Our novel technology has been
“…TATP does not have conventional explosives is usually
successfully implemented into a portable, between 1.5 to 1.8 grams per cm³. So if
reliable and cost-effective ETD.”
any nitrogen in it, unlike a terrorist had conventional explosives
in his bag, the CTX machine would be
The TATP Challenge compounds such as TNT, able to identify that immediately. The
Without doubt, the explosive that still reason for this is because out of all the
poses a challenge for screeners is TATP nitro-glycerine, PETN, other items in the bag, like books or
(triacetone triperoxide). This is an organic clothes, the density is approximately 0.5
peroxide that has been identified in HMX and Semtex. Most g/cm³. So if you have something which
explosive devices in a number of cases is 1.5 to 1.8 g/cm³, it is visible to the
involving terrorists. detectors are based on machine. But TATP is 0.5 g/cm³, which is
Richard Reid, the man who attempted transparent to the CTX machine.”
to bring down American Airlines Flight the presence of nitro Chris McBee from Syagen Technology
63 with a bomb hidden in his shoe, used Inc. agrees with Prof. Keinan, “Most
a device containing a plastic explosive groups in the explosive detection systems have an
with a TATP trigger. It is also believed area of strength allowing them to match
that TATP was used as the explosive in explosives…” up well with a limited range of
18 December 2007 Aviationsecurityinternational
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52