Bio-defense: stemming false alarms.

• Author: Williams, Robert H.
• Position: TECH TALK: A TIP-SHEET ON THE LATEST GADGETS

* Commercial biological agent detectors tend to give too many false alarms. And that can be a major headache.

Unnecessary evacuations at airports, sports arenas, train stations and other large areas where people congregate cost time, money and tend to foster bad attitudes.

To rectify this problem, scientists at Sandia, Lawrence Livermore, Oak Ridge and Pacific Northwest national laboratories looked into bioaerosol detectors--specifically laser induced fluorescence devices. The upshot is a device that double checks existing sensors. The Enhanced Bio-aerosol Detection System determines whether once an alarm is sounded if sufficient dangerous agents are...