06 Jul 07. Indian Exporters will soon be subjected to more rigorous checks depending on who their customers are as the government is all set to project its credentials in preventing the proliferation of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons and their delivery systems. The move has implications for the export of chemicals and allied products, biotechnology materials and products of the aerospace industry. This may reassure the US, which is concerned about the safety of transferring sensitive technologies to India under the proposed nuclear deal, given the fact that India has good relations with Iran — one of the three nations blacklisted by the US. (Source: Google)
12 Jul 07. US ‘dirty bomb’ sting shows risk. US investigators posing as businessmen were easily able to obtain a licence to buy enough nuclear material to make a small “dirty bomb”. The team, who set up a bogus company, said the operation exposed serious flaws in the way the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approves licences. It took only four weeks and some phone calls and faxes to get the document. The NRC says it has already taken steps to address the problem. The sting was carried out at the request of Congress. Investigators from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said they had not even had to leave their desks to acquire the licence. Report author Gregory Kutz told a Senate hearing that the sting clearly showed the NRC control process “did not work”. “Given that terrorists have expressed an interest in obtaining nuclear material, the Congress and the American people expect licensing programmes for these materials to be secure,” Mr Kutz said. Posing as businessmen, the investigators told the NRC they needed equipment using radioactive isotopes americium-241 and cesium-137 used in construction. (Source: BBC)
05 Jul 07. American Science and Engineering, Inc., a leader in X-ray detection technology, announced today the receipt of a $2.3m order from a new Middle Eastern customer for multiple Z(R) Backscatter(TM) Vans (ZBV(TM)). Configured for harsh environments and with Forwardscatter(TM) capability, the ZBVs will be utilized to secure and protect a high-threat facility. “International ZBV activity continues to increase, particularly from the Middle East,” said Anthony Fabiano, President and CEO. “This new client has responded to the ZBV’s proven ability to detect explosives in vehicles and cargo with ultimate mobility. These ZBVs will utilize our new Forwardscatter technology option to add a second scatter perspective to enhance detection in dense regions of scanned vehicles and cargo — ideal for detecting metallic threats including the shielding around nuclear weapons. With these two unique technologies, the ZBV provides unparalleled detection to secure this customer’s high-threat facility from a broad range of threats.” (Source: ASD Network)