Topics in this issue include CBRN diagnostics consortium, dual use commodities, radiation exposure limits in Japan, NBAF agrodefense lab and more…
In This Article
DoD Seeks to Establish Consortium for CBRN Countermeasures, Diagnostics
The DoD’s Joint Project Manager for Medical Countermeasure Systems (JPM-MCS), part of the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense, is seeking to establish a consortium for advanced development efforts to support defense medical pharmaceutical and diagnostic requirements. Global Biodefense >>
Tracking Growth in Dual Use Commodities in Southeast Asia
Under a grant from the Naval Postgraduate School’s Project on Advanced Systems and Concepts For Countering WMD (PASCC), the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies is examining the growing industrial and high-tech manufacturing capabilities in Southeast Asia and how, over the next decade, that growth may challenge global efforts to control the flow of dual-use technologies related to the development of weapons of mass destruction. Center for Nonproliferation Studies >>
Japan to Raise Worker Emergency Radiation Exposure Limits
Japan’s nuclear regulator is to increase the radiation exposure limit for workers in emergency situations from the current 100 millisieverts (mSv) to 250 mSv. The limit was temporarily raised following the March 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. World Nuclear News >>
Russia Deployed Nuclear-Capable Gear, NATO Commander Says
Russia has deployed equipment during the conflict in eastern Ukraine that can be used for nuclear weapons, NATO’s top military commander said. U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove said on Thursday, “Lots of the systems that the Russians use to deliver nuclear weapons are dual-use systems — they can be either conventional or nuclear — and some of those systems are deployed.” Bloomberg Business >>
How to Prevent an Oil Train Disaster
Six days before last week’s deadly Amtrak derailment, a train carrying crude oil went off the tracks in rural North Dakota and burst into flames. Thankfully, no one was killed. But it should not take a deadly disaster — like the one that took 47 lives in the town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, in July 2013 — for us to grasp the risk from oil trains, which pass through many densely populated parts of the United States. NY Times >>
DHS S&T Competition Awards for Tech to Track First Responders Indoors
The Homeland Security Department’s Science and Technology Directorate announced May 20 that two companies have won the agency’s first innovation prize competition around developing new technologies that can track first responders inside buildings, tunnels and other structures. Fierce Homeland Security >>
The Divided Front Negotiating with Iran
The nuclear negotiations between Iran and six world powers are entering their final stage. For months, the two sides have met in various cities to come up with an agreement under which Tehran would limit its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. A lot of ink has been spilled about the most visible actors in the process, but little has been said about the other parties. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists >>
NIOSH Collaborating with Wikipedia
NIOSH has announced it has been working with Wikipedia for the last four months in order to improve safety and health information on the website. Some of the NIOSH resources being used include Cochrane reviews, literature reviews and epidemiological research and chemical data. Currently, the two parties are in the process of updating the English Wikipedia with United States-based chemical safety data, including recommended and permissible exposure limits. Occupational Health & Safety >>
DHS Awards Final Contract for National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) this week announced the award of a contract for the final phase of construction of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) being constructed in Manhattan, Kansas. Global Biodefense >>
Iran’s Supreme Leader Rules Out Broad Nuclear Inspections
Iran’s supreme leader on Wednesday ruled out allowing international inspectors to interview Iranian nuclear scientists as part of any potential deal on its nuclear program, and reiterated that the country would not allow the inspection of military sites. NY Times >>
Tepco Sees Progress in Understanding of Fukushima Accident
Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) today released the latest findings of an ongoing investigation into how the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant unfolded. Tepco said the findings support measures being taken at the Kashiwazaki Kariwa plant, which it hopes to restart. World Nuclear News >>
908 Devices Selected for Next-Gen Chemical Detection Program
908 Devices today announced that its High-Pressure Mass Spectrometry (HPMS) has been selected to move forward in the U.S. Army’s Next Generation Chemical Detector (NGCD) program. Teaming for the NGCD program with Smiths Detection Inc., the two companies will jointly move into the next phase of technology development and testing. Global Biodefense >>
North Korea Claims It Has Built Small Nuclear Warheads
North Korea said on Wednesday that it had already built nuclear weapons small enough to be carried by missiles, even as a senior American general questioned the country’s recent claim that it had successfully tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile. NY Times >>