The Center for Domestic Preparedness’ Chemical, Ordnance, Biological and Radiological Training Facility (COBRATF) Biological program has been accredited by the American Biological Safety Association (ABSA) International. ABSA inspectors visited the COBRATF, a Biosafety Level 2 facility, in 2017, and evaluated its biological program management system, safety program, operating procedures, facilities, laboratory, and work practices.
According to the U.S. Geologic Survey, there is a one-in-three future chance that the Hayward fault will rupture with a 6.7+ magnitude earthquake. Such an earthquake would cause widespread damage to structures, transportation and utilities. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientists used supercomputers to model ground shaking, showing more realistic motions than ever before, enabling improved infrastructure design.
With Hurricane Harvey barreling toward the Texas coast, emergency managers wanted, needed, and used every tool at their disposal to make critical decisions on evacuations, preparedness, and response. One of those tools was the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) Hurricane Evacuation (HURREVAC) extended (HV-X) platform.
The Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) has incorporated fentanyl awareness into select training courses to address the threat of accidental exposure to the drug by first responders. The CDP’s fentanyl lecture focuses on preventative measures responders need to take to protect themselves from exposure and contamination, and includes a fact sheet for future reference.
Sandia National Laboratories designed, tested, and delivered new radiation detection equipment for monitoring under the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START). The latest version of the radiation detection equipment is lighter, more rugged, and designed to be more sustainable into the future than the original generation of equipment.
Developed by the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) Center of Excellence (COE), the Coast Guard Search and Rescue Visual Analytics (cgSARVA) system helps the U.S. Coast Guard decision makers spot the stations most capable of responding to a disaster and helps prioritize the restoration of stations in need of repair.
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) new Epigenetic Characterization and Observation (ECHO) program aims to build a field-deployable platform technology that quickly reads someone’s epigenome and identifies signatures that indicate whether that person has ever been exposed to materials that could be associated with weapons of mass destruction. This allows intelligence officers to immediately piece together a chain of evidence.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) announce a formal agreement aimed at making the oversight of food more efficient and effective by bolstering coordination between the two agencies. The formal agreement outlines efforts to increase interagency collaboration, efficiency and effectiveness on produce safety and biotechnology activities, while providing clarity to manufacturers.
Sandia National Laboratories is developing specialized computer modeling and simulation methods to better understand how blasts on a battlefield could lead to traumatic brain injury and injuries to vital organs, like the heart and lungs. The information could help manufacturers develop better designs for helmets and body armor.
The Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate recently reached a milestone in its development of a millimeter wave imager that will screen for potential threat items – unobtrusively as people pass by, without slowing them down – at metro and train stations.
