The Russian government plans to update the existing state concept for the prevention of CBRN threats in the country. Its aim is to increase the level of radiation, chemical and biological protection for the local population, according to recent statements made by senior officials in the Russian ministry of emergency situations and the ministry of defence.

It has been reported that the President of EcoHealth Alliance, a nonprofit non-governmental organization that supports various programs on global health, has received an envelope containing white powder at his home. 

It has been reported by News 12 Westchester that the home of Peter Daszack was attended by fire and hazmat teams to investigate the contents of the envelope. There is no news yet as to what the contents of the envelope is, and the FBI has said they are investigating. 

EcoHealth Alliance has worked on many important projects over the years including monitoring disease outbreak hotspots, Rift Valley Fever, Nipah Virus, and setting up much needed biosurvellance networks around the world. Most recently the organisation has become more well known outside of scientific circles due to the work they have done over many years on coronaviruses in bat populations. 

Some theories (read conspiraceis) have been made about the work of EcoHealth Alliance in the "documentary" Plandemic II: Indoctornation, whether this incident has anything to do with what was said in this programme is unknown, but the timing seems somewhat suspicious. 

Serstech today received a 5.3 MSEK order from its Asian partner DKSH. DKSH will deliver the products to a national narcotics police organization in South-East Asia. The order consists of the Serstech 100 Indicator and ChemDash software and will be delivered and invoiced in Q3 2020.

The order is based on a tender that was cancelled in Q2 due to the uncertainties created by the Corona pandemic. The tender was reopened again recently, since the police needed to get access to modern tools to battle the problems with narcotics – problems that have escalated over the last few months.

“DKSH has been a Serstech sales partner since early 2019 and has more than 100 years of experience in the Asian markets. Getting such an order so quickly is a testament to their skills and deep understanding of their market”, says Serstech CEO Stefan Sandor.

“Serstech provides solutions that are well adapted to the security market – the robustness, precision and size of the instruments make them ideal for police and border control users. We expect to continue to grow our business together with Serstech over the coming years”, says DKSH Shanghai, General Manager, Technology Scientific Instruments, Cathleen Lin.

MS Tech Innovation will deepen the company’s support of the Indian market and the ongoing needs for advanced explosives and narcotics detection technologies, while maintaining its dozens of deployments in the country

MS Tech Ltd. - a global developer, manufacturer, and innovator of nanotechnology, IoT and big-data sensors - expands its worldwide presence with the establishment of MS Tech Innovation Private Limited, a fully owned subsidiary by MS Tech Ltd. The company will aim to the Indian government and Indian PM Narendra Modi vision of “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” which is “Self-Reliant India”. MS Tech Innovation will deepen the its manufacturing, assembly, sales, marketing and technical support activities across India in support of the growing demand for advanced explosives and narcotics detection systems.

According to Doron Shalom, CEO of MS Tech Ltd, “The ongoing process of establishment of the subsidiary in India is a result of our understanding of the need for local representation and is another step in strengthening our support and commitment to our customers in the Indian market. We are looking forward to our continued cooperation with India while supporting the vision of raising its manufacturing capacity, creativity, skills and employment.”

Mr. Shalom adds that “MS Tech’s explosive and narcotics detection solutions are already successfully deployed in dozens of international and domestics airports across India. The Make-In-India activities will enable us to expand our capabilities for further projects in the aviation, defense and security sectors and keep our efficient and fast service and support to our Indian customers.

The Company's Flagship Products Are the EXPLOSCAN and DUOSCAN:

The EXPLOSCAN and DUOSCAN are explosive and narcotics trace and vapors detectors that use the innovative High-Frequency Quartz Crystal Microbalance “HF-QCM” nanotechnology sensors developed, manufactured and patented by MS Tech Ltd. Both systems feature an innovative design with self-calibrating and self-cleaning capabilities, with the highest levels of operational availability. The HF-QCM nanotechnology sensors are non-radioactive, providing a complete green and safe working environment.

The EXPLOSCAN and DUOSCAN are ideal for aviation and transportation security, high-threat facilities and infrastructures, military, customs and border control, mail inspection and cargo screening markets. The systems are operational proven in in a wide spectrum of temperatures and withstand even the harshest environmental conditions including, dust and humidity.

Explosive materials pose a threat whether they are used by domestic bad actors or in a theater of war and staying ahead of our adversaries is a job that the Departments of Homeland Security and Defense share. Our research and development work is no different.

Most recently, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) transitioned technology to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) that is representative of S&T’s deep body of work in cataloging, detecting and thwarting explosive threats. Now this body of work will help keep our warfighters and our nation safe from weapons of mass destruction (WMD) threats.

The technology—a Next-Generation Mass Spectrometry Explosive Trace Detector (Next-Gen Mass Spec ETD)—was developed due to emerging explosive threats and evolving tactics by terrorists to evade detection. For the past decade, S&T has made it a top priority to equip and enhance DHS security personnel with next-generation capabilities that can rapidly identify and defeat these threats.

For example, we all know that explosive threats are a major concern in aviation security. They are the reason we remove our shoes as we go through airport checkpoints and why the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) scans every piece of luggage and cargo before loading them onto planes. The sheer variety of explosive materials, the many vehicles for deploying them, and the increasing tactics used to avoid detection pose a tremendous risk not only to American (and global) aviation, but across the entire homeland security enterprise.

Adapting S&T’s Existing ETD Tech to Help DARPA Detect Weapons of Mass Destruction

S&T has been working not only with TSA, but also U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Secret Service, to develop Next-Gen Mass Spec ETD capabilities for use at aviation checkpoints, border crossings, and other security operations across the country.

The program team realized that this technology could easily be modified to meet a pressing DARPA need as well. “The original intent of developing this Next-Gen Mass Spec ETD technology was to give Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) an alarm resolution tool that identifies, confirms and defeats current and emerging explosive threats,” said S&T Program Manager Michael Palamar.

Many of us may have experienced being swabbed at airport checkpoints in a procedure called alarm resolution screening. TSOs use ETDs to determine whether harmful substances are present on cargo or the passengers transporting it—they use a sampling coupon to swab a piece of carry-on or checked baggage or a passenger’s hands, place the coupon inside an ETD unit, and then analyze it for the presence of potential explosive residues.

Palamar continued, “We were surprised and pleased to find out that this same technology is equally adaptable for enhancing warfighters’ capabilities to detect biological and WMD threats.”

DARPA's SIGMA+ program is tasked with detecting illicit materials via highly-capable sensors and networks that alert authorities to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives threats. They were looking to deploy chemical sensors that not only will provide early warning of WMDs, but that could also be scalable to cover a major metropolitan city and its surrounding region. A high-resolution and high-sensitivity mass spec technology that has been ruggedized for field operations was a logical choice for the SIGMA+ program.

S&T’s years of taking ETD technology to the next level resulted in the Next-Gen Mass Spec ETD that will help DARPA meet its capability need. Key features of S&T’s system include:

• Enhanced capabilities to counter emergent threats. This technology is designed to meet the most demanding requirements for explosive threat detection, including detection of homemade explosives.
• Upgradable threat library and shortened threat library upgrade cycles. The high spectral resolving power and sensitivity of industry partner Bruker Detection Corporation’s triple-quadrupole mass spec technology play a key role in allowing faster threat identification and confirmation of specific threats.
• Adaptable to operations in challenging environments, such as adverse weather and high vibration environments.

The technology underwent two rounds of developmental testing and evaluation at S&T’s Transportation Security Laboratory and one round of testing at TSA’s Systems Integration Facility. It is also undergoing ruggedization for uses in air cargo facilities. In each of these testing and evaluation events, the technology showed proven capabilities in detecting and identifying emergent explosive threats.

Allowing DARPA to Communicate WMD Threats in Domestic Urban Environments

Now, with some modification, this critical, cutting-edge technology has been reconfigured for DARPA to use as an air-breathing sensor for early WMD warning.

“DARPA's SIGMA+ program has a requirement to deploy highly-capable chemical sensors as part of a mobile sensor architecture to provide WMD early warning,” noted DARPA Program Manager Dr. Mark Wrobel. “S&T's development of an air-sampling variant of Bruker's compact triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer has provided a capability for SIGMA+ that would otherwise not have existed.”

Leveraging S&T’s Next-Gen Mass Spec ETD engine, DARPA integrates it with an air-breathing front end for sampling air and detecting chemical and explosive trace vapors and their pre-cursors in metropolitan environments. The high sensitivity of the detection engine is instrumental in giving DARPA a real-time detection capability against WMD, and the upgradable threat library and compressed library upgrade cycles play a key role in enabling the communications of WMD threats to responsible authorities—thus enhancing national security.

Thoi Nguyen, a contract scientist supporting S&T’s development and analysis of the Next-Gen Mass Spec ETD for the last five years, seconded Dr. Wrobel’s comment. “S&T tested and evaluated several other mass spec technologies for explosives detection. This technology came out on top both in high- probability of detection and low probability of false alarm.”

The Power of Collaboration is a Winning Solution for Our Homeland’s Security

S&T’s work on Next-Gen Mass Spec ETD technology continues with TSA and other DHS agencies, but it is always a proud moment when a new use case is not only identified but put into operational practice.

Commenting on this fruitful collaboration, S&T’s Dr. Laura Parker said: “It is a credit to the progress and impact of this next-generation ETD technology that S&T was able to collaborate with DARPA and share this technology. As government program managers, we are committed to using taxpayers’ money more efficiently, and this technology transition is a win-win.”

S&T looks forward to future collaborations with DARPA to keep America safe.

In December 2019 reports emerged that a Utah woman had been arrested for possesion of a biological weapon. Janie Lynn Ridd, 50, was arrested whilst the case was being investigated by both federal and state authorities. 

According to the affidavit at the time “Through an investigation, officers learned a subject later identified as Janie Lynn Ridd purchased a weapon of mass destruction ... a biological agent online. Subsequent investigation found Ridd’s statements to be misleading and it was learned Ridd did not provide evidence to show she has lawful authority or use to possess a biological agent.”

Facing charges of aggravated abuse of a vulnerable adult, a second-degree felony, attempted abuse of a vulnerable adult, a third-degree felony, and attempted possession of a biological agent, a second-degree felony, Ridd plead guilty and has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Now that the trial has taken place more information has come to light about the agent she tried to purchase, and intented to use on her roommate. 

Autorities say that Ridd turned to the dark web in an attempt to procure Vancomycin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (VRSA). VRSA can cause illness from skin infections to severe invasive diseases which can result in pneumonia and/or septicemia or even death. Ridd clamied to be a biology teacher at a college preparatory school in Utah and said she needed the VRSA for a science experiment on antibiotic resistance.

Court documents state that "When the vendor advised the defendant that VRSA may be obtained for scientific research through more legitimate sources, the defendant continued to pursue the purchase from the vendor, offering to pay overnight shipping to obtain the VRSA faster."  On Dec. 17, 2019, agents delivered a package with faux VRSA to Ridd at her mailbox. When she was later apprehended she claimed to have purchased coffee from an online supply company for $300. Later she admitted to lying about the coffee and stated that the package contained a "biological which she had ordered online form the dark web to make beer at home in the basement," court documents state. She then again changed her story saying she'd ordered some form of "staph" for "experimental purposes to satisfy a personal curiosity she had stemming from her roommate’s recent exposure to MRSA," a similar biological agent.

Ridd's roommate, who was the intended target of the VRSA, had been having a tumultuous time in the home for some time, but Ridd appeared to care for the victim, ensuring she took her medication for her various ailments. The first the victim knew there was a real issue was when FBI agents arrived at her home. It is belived by investigators that Ridd would knock her roomate out with sedatives so she could inject harmful things into her system, such as Xanax and Ketamine.  While asleep Ridd would then inject her roommate with harmful doses of insulin or even E. coli. 

The rooommate has said she has been in a much better physical condition since Ridd was arrested. Not a surprise really. 

As the 71st anniversary of the first atom bomb test by the Soviet Union in 1949 approaches, Rosatom (the State Nuclear Energy Corporation) has released new footage of the test detonation of the Tsar Bomba in 1961. 

The documentary published by Rosatom on August 20 chronicles the day in October 1961 that the Soviet Union detonated a 50-megaton nuclear weapon on a remote Arctic island. Known simply as “Product 202,” the bomb’s colossal size and power earned it the moniker “Tsar Bomba” - the king of bombs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=nbC7BxXtOlo&feature=emb_logo

Over the weekend Alexey Nalvany was transported to Berlin for treatment following a sustained fight by his family and supporters to allow this to happen. 

Using an Epishuttle, by Epiguard to transport Nalvany the team from Berlin collected him on Saturday Morning. 

As yet there is still no official word as to what has caused Nalvany's illness, it is still suspected to be a poisoning, Charite Berlin the hospital where Nalvany is currently has released a statement saying that extensive medical testing is being carried out. 

See the story from CNN, including pictures of the Epishuttle being prepared to collecte Nalvany. 

Falcon Communications is hugely saddened to announce that we are not going to be able to deliver CBRNe Convergence in person this year. We had hoped that since Massachusetts had been doing an excellent job in containing the virus, and with Convergence still three months away, that there was a good chance that the event would be able to go ahead with the social restrictions that we are now used to. Sadly the recent announcement from Gov. Baker, www.whdh.com/news/baker-announces-indefinite-postponement-of-reopening-plan-says-enforcement-team-will-start-cracking-down-on-risky-behavior/, shattered those hopes and left us with no chance of being able to deliver the event in person.

All delegates and exhibitors will be contacted directly and have their options explained to them.

We are now going to deliver a series of virtual events over the next eight months, that will bring together our usual brand of international experts to help raise standards of CBRNe defence across the world. This will include “Bitesize Boston” which will replace CBRNe Convergence and take place over the 1-4 December 2020. The eagle eyed amongst you will notice that this is now going to be a four, rather than two day event. We firmly believe that you cannot map live events straight onto virtual ones; no-one is going to sit down and listen to a conference for eight hours a day. Instead by breaking it up into bitesized chunks we will keep people engaged but also allow them to get on with the rest of their work.

In addition to the virtual conference we are going to run a series of smaller virtual workshops. We will have the first one of these in October and then we’ll run them throughout 2021. We are still finalising dates and topics, but currently this is what we have planned.  

• I dream of ANFO – Beirut, West and Toulouse ammonium nitrate explosions
• Future of Syria – What is the likely future of chemical weapons in Syria
• A rose by any other name… What CBRN lessons can we take from Covid
• Future of State conflict and CBRN
• Evidence never lies… – CBRN forensics
• Future of decon
• It’s worse than that, he’s dead, Jim – mass fatality events
• Future of drones and CBRN

These will be led by three experts in their field, and end with a panel discussion between them and the audience. Participation will be encouraged and rewarded!

We are fully expecting to be able to welcome you to CBRNe Convergence 2021 in Orlando, 2-4 November. We will also be working with Milipol Asia Pacific ’21 in Singapore, April 6-8. Singapore has had a ‘good’ Covid, and we are confident will be one of the first countries to open up. 

It is going to be a tough time for Falcon Communications until we get to into second quarter 2021, we ask for your patience and support as we navigate them.

XploSafe, a provider of critical safety solutions for homeland security and chemical safety, recently announced it has received a $2.47 million defense contract for its chemical-sensing wearable badges.

The contract was awarded by the U.S. Air Force Rapid Innovation Fund to XploSafe for their developed technology to capture air samples and detect the presence of harmful chemicals and gases. The wearable badge determines if the user has been exposed and in what concentrations.

Personnel with the Naval Submarine Medical Research Lab and the U.S. Air Force will wear the badges, called XCel+, on their uniforms and the badge will be tested periodically to determine if the individual had been exposed to harmful concentrations of chemicals. This technology will provide military leadership the information required to decide if and when the military personnel should be removed from an environment to prevent undesired exposure.

XploSafe said its XCel+ dosimeters demonstrate "an exclusive capability to capture the widest range of chemical vapors and store them for far longer periods of time, even in freezing or hot environmental conditions."

“This competitive contract will advance our technology applications, automate production capacity and get the XCel+ badges into the hands of those who work in potentially dangerous environments,” said Shoaib Shaikh, co-founder and manager of XploSafe. “We estimate our production capability will increase to 2,500 units per week by early 2021. We know this technology will protect lives in a way that wasn’t possible before — that keeps us focused on the timeline for increasing production.”

XploSafe believes this Department of Defense contract will create awareness and interest from industrial markets. The company plans to market the badges to organizations that operate in environments that experience chemical exposures such as health care, agriculture, food processing, mining, oil refineries, metal foundries, chemical processing plants, laboratories, emergency response industries and the military.

Avon Rubber is pleased to announce that Avon Protection has been awarded a 10-year contract by the NATO Support & Procurement Agency to supply FM50 mask systems, powered and supplied air systems, filters, spare parts and accessories.

Avon Protection anticipates receiving the first order under this contract shortly, with initial deliveries contributing to our expected Rest of World Military revenues for the 2021 financial year.

Commenting, Paul McDonald, Chief Executive Officer, said:

“I am delighted that Avon Protection’s world leading expertise in respiratory protection has been recognised by NATO through this contract award.

This contract award reflects continued delivery of our strategy to further broaden our customer base and maximise the value from our current portfolio.

We are looking forward to partnering closely with this valued customer and supporting the wider NATO alliance.”

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA)  has teamed up with Innovate UK to launch a £3.9 million competition to find ways to sort and segregate radioactive waste at some of the UK’s oldest nuclear sites.

The aim of the competition is to develop an autonomous and integrated toolkit to sort and segregate radioactive waste generated by nuclear decommissioning activities. This will reduce the level of waste requiring disposal, increase productivity, reduce costs, and improve safety. 

• Competition opens: Monday 17 August 2020
• Competition closes: Wednesday 11 November 2020 11:00am (GMT)

For full details, and how to apply, click here

This is phase 1 of a 2-phase competition. A decision to proceed with phase 2 will depend on the outcomes from phase 1 and the assessment of a separate application into a subsequent phase 2 competition.

Phase 1: research and development contracts, feasibility study (this competition)

Up to £600,000, including VAT, is available for phase 1 and it is anticipated that the feasibility study R&D contracts will be up to £60,000, including VAT. This is for each project for up to 3 months. We expect to fund up to 10 projects. At the conclusion of phase 1 you will produce a technical feasibility study.

Phase 2: research and development contracts, prototype development and testing

Only successful applicants from phase 1 will be able to apply to take part in phase 2. Your end-of-phase 1 report (technical feasibility study) will form part of your application into phase 2.

The second phase will involve up to 4 R&D contracts. Up to £900,000, including VAT, will be allocated for each contract for up to 15 months, in order to develop and demonstrate a full scale prototype in a non-radioactive environment.

At the conclusion of the competition we will ask all phase 2 projects to demonstrate their solutions at their own premises to an invited audience and participate in a showcase event to present their solutions to potential end users and customers.

The contract is completed at the end of phase 2, and the successful business is expected to pursue commercialisation of their solution.