Homeland Security Workshop addresses inspection standards.
Press Release Summary:
American National Standards Institute Homeland Security Standards Panel (ANSI-HSSP) will offer workshop to examine existing and necessary standards for non-invasive inspection systems for homeland security. Held at NIST headquarters in Gaithersburg, MD on April 29-30, workshop will encompass ionizing radiation, non-ionizing radiation, metal detectors, automated target recognition for screening persons, luggage, cargo containers, and vehicles for explosives and other dangerous materials.
Original Press Release:
ANSI-HSSP Workshop to Address Standards for Non-Invasive Inspection Systems for Homeland Security
The American National Standards Institute Homeland Security Standards Panel (ANSI-HSSP), in collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate's Standards Subject Area Working Group on Explosives, is launching a new workshop to examine existing and necessary standards for non-invasive inspection systems for homeland security. A two-day kick-off meeting will be held on April 29-30, 2010, at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) headquarters in Gaithersburg, MD.
The workshop's area of activity will encompass ionizing radiation, non-ionizing radiation, metal detectors, automated target recognition for screening persons, luggage, cargo containers, and vehicles for explosives and other dangerous materials.
This workshop is open to all interested stakeholders, who will work together to identify what standards currently exist and in what areas new standards are needed, followed by actionable recommendations for the timely development of standards in the identified priorities. More event information and a draft agenda will be forthcoming on ANSI's event page.
Questions about the workshop can be sent to Karen Hughes, director, ANSI-HSSP (khughes@ansi.org, 212.642.4992).
Full-Body Scanners in the News
Chicago's O'Hare and Boston's Logan airports will receive the first "full body scanner" X-ray machines in the coming weeks as part of the Obama administration's push to improve airport security in the wake of the Christmas Day bombing attempt. The remainder of the 150 machines, purchased with $25 million from the 2009 stimulus funds, will be installed in airports by the end of June.
The new machines are "backscatter" scanners, which use low-level X-rays to create a two-dimensional image of the body. Forty "millimeter-wave" full-body scanners, which use electromagnetic waves to produce a three-dimensional image, already are operating in nineteen airports across the country.
