Smiths Detection to help protect New York train stations from chemical attack

SMITHS Detection, part of the global technology business Smiths Group, today announces it has been awarded a $3.2 million contract to engineer and deploy an advanced anti-terrorist system for the State of New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).

The PROTECT programme integrates chemical sensors and security camera systems to help protect the two largest train stations in New York City from chemical attack.

The programme is funded by the MTA and the US Department of Homeland Security.

Smiths Detection-LiveWave, a leading developer of intelligent surveillance solutions for mission-critical security applications, provides the video networking capability to PROTECT.

PROTECT was developed by the US Department of Energys Argonne National Laboratory following the 1995 sarin gas attacks on the Tokyo subway. Argonne has collaborated with Smiths Detection-LiveWave on previous PROTECT applications for several other major US transit systems and will provide scientific services for the NY deployment.

It was first deployed in Washington DC and later expanded into Boston and New York ahead of the Democratic and Republican Conventions in 2004.

Smiths Detection has provided us with the experience, expertise and technologies needed to develop and implement PROTECT, a complex, scalable solution that has become an important and valuable layer of security for the MTA, said William A. Morange, MTA Director of Security.

Stephen Phipson, Group Managing Director of Smiths Detection, said: Smiths Detection is pleased to continue working with the MTA to provide New York City with Integrated anti-terrorism technologies and solutions.

As the Nations largest mass transit system, the MTA has again demonstrated its dedication to public safety.

Smiths Detection is a world-leading provider of x-ray technology and systems that detect and identify chemicals, biological threats and explosives.

ENDS

PROTECT
PROTECT was developed by Argonne National Laboratory in response to the 1995 sarin gas attacks in the Tokyo subway. A joint effort of the U.S. Department of Energy, the Federal Transit Administration, and the National Institute of Justice, the goal of PROTECT was to create early warning and response systems capable of safeguarding public locations from possible chemical terrorist attacks. Employing chemical sensors and intelligent camera networks, PROTECT provides first responders with accurate information about airborne chemical attacks in large public interior spaces. PROTECT significantly reduces response time to an incident, potentially saving hundreds to thousands of lives in the event of a chemical attack. Subsequent funding has been received from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.