This from the London panic in the last couple of days.
......"Commuters driving into Canary Wharf in Docklands, east London, had their steering wheels swabbed for explosive residue when entering an
underground car park."............
Would this be some type of generic nitrate/nitrite test?
I can't believe they could do much of a test on every car and
it must be some sort of instant response test.
There being so many explosive compounds of different
types this testing can't, it seems, be very comprehensive.
Anyone know how this is done?
[Edited on by bio2]bio2 - 4-7-2007 at 19:50
Found this on the subject. Apparently a mass spectrometer is used.
So per this info the driver would have his steering wheel swabbed and then
wait until it was placed in the spectrometer and results acheived.
Amazing , do they now have pocket mass spectrometers.
........Explosive trace detection is a quick process that will be carried out on randomly selected passengers once they have walked through the metal
detector, and their carry-on luggage has been x-rayed. A swab will be run across a passenger’s travel documents or luggage. The explosive trace
detection equipment then analyses the swab for residue of explosive materials. If any explosive residue is detected, the passenger is subject to
additional screening. Once cleared, the passenger is free to continue boarding.
"Technology is not yet at the point where it can simply and easily detect all explosives. For example, certain liquid explosives cannot be detected.
Because of this, as I have previously announced, New Zealand is also introducing restrictions on liquids, aerosols and gels from 31 March," said Mr
Duynhoven.
The explosive trace detection process is a non-intrusive method of testing to see if explosive residue is present. Any explosive residue that a person
has been handling is likely to have been transferred to other items they come into contact with. For this reason a swab is taken from either a
passenger’s travel documents or their carry-on baggage. This swab is then analysed by placing it in a machine that detects whether certain types of
explosive residue are present or not........12AX7 - 4-7-2007 at 20:10
Yeah, a few years ago, the family (myself included) was leaving O'Hare for LAX and they ran a tissue (something like Kimwipes) around our luggage,
then fed it into a machine which must've either analysed the vapors and/or particulates on said tissue.
TimPhosphor-ing - 5-7-2007 at 07:08
I was subjected to the same "kimwipe" treatment at the San Diego airport. They made me stand in a metal detector looking device which blew puffs of
air at me from head to toe. Then they proceeded to do the kimwipe swab of my backpack and shoes. The machine used gives results in about 10 secs. All
told it took about 2 to 3 minutes for the extra security to run it's course.bio2 - 5-7-2007 at 13:02
........"All told it took about 2 to 3 minutes for the extra security to run it's course.".........
Yea, so it's going to be an incredible line waiting to
drive into the carpark.
The minimum trace reading must be in the parts per billion/trillion category.BromicAcid - 5-7-2007 at 18:13
I flunked my test in the airport for nitrates. The fact that I had a gas mask in my backpack didn't help much. They asked me a number of questions,
found out I worked in the hazardous waste buisness, verified my employment, and sent me on my way. Simple as that, I'm sure that without a good
reason though I would have been in trouble.
[Edited on 7/5/2007 by BromicAcid]not_important - 6-7-2007 at 01:28
Quote:
Originally posted by bio2.....
The minimum trace reading must be in the parts per billion/trillion category.
The next-gen/newest-gen gear is said to detect in the 10 to 0,1 parts per billion range, and is supposed to be much more sensitve than current (as of
2006) equipment.
On the other hand, this hand held GC/Ms gives detection levels in the low PPB down into ppt, so last years report may be obsolete
This sounds scary. What if you are a farmer and you work with nitrates as fertilizer. If the equipment becomes so extremely sensitive, then I am
afraid there will be many false alarms, resulting in a lot of upset people and even chance of being accused for things with which you have nothing to
do.
Doing chemical experiments, a short time before you enter a plane to/from the USA does not seem like a smart thing. How many days (and showers) would
one need to take before one can safely enter a plane without the risk of being demonized like a terrorist ??phlogiston - 24-12-2014 at 02:32
Damn, do we get in-thread spam now too?!
If the number of false-positives becomes great, the security check guys (m/f) may become complacent. You would not need a very elaborate excuse. For
nitrates, "gardening" should do, at least in spring/summer, since even a lot of non-professional fertilisers commonly available to the public contain
substantial amounts of nitrate.
Ofcourse, residues of azides, organic peroxides, nitrated organics etc will be a lot harder to explain away.
I once filed for a visum to enter the US (as I was entering by boat) and on the form I answered (truthfully) that I had knowledge of explosives,
nuclear materials and microbiology. In the 'reasons' field I just wrote 'studied biochemistry'. Because this was for my honeymoon and I wanted to keep
the destination/trip as much as possible secret to my wife-to-be, I furthermore requested the official that he would not ask her any questions if
possible. They never raised an eyebrow and we had our visum in an hour.
Then, day after the wedding, we got to the airport, and the security guy asked us whether anyone had had access to our backpacks. We replied 'yes,
hundreds of people, we were at a party last night and the backpack was there in a corner all of the time'. 'Ok then, have a nice trip!'. It may have
helped to have a pretty and innocent-looking girl by my side but still.
??