Homeland Security news: biowatch 3 ends, but not tab-in-a-box' goal.

• Author: Magnuson, Stew

The Bio Watch 3 program in April apparently joined the long list of Department of Homeland Security technology development programs that have been canceled or restructured because of cost overruns, or lack of progress.

DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson called an end to the decade-long effort to create a "lab in a box" that would not only sniff out dangerous airborne pathogens and toxins, but do the processing on site and then transmit the results in real time to authorities.

However, a DHS official in a written statement told National Defense that the goal to create a more rapid and efficient system to detect the signs of a biological attack will continue.

The current BioWatch program, which relies on technicians to collect samples from boxes placed in secret locations in more than two dozen large cities, will continue, a statement from DHS spokesman S.Y. Lee said.

"DHS announced the cancelation of the BioWatch acquisition of autonomous detection technology (also known as Gen-3). DHS remains committed to the BioWatch program and will ensure that current BioWatch operations continue as part of our layered approach to biodefense. This decision is in line with the department's focus on efficiency, [and] ensuring that we continue to pursue cost-effective acquisition without compromising our security."

The DHS official, who declined to be named, said: "The BioWatch program is the only federally-managed, locally-operated nationwide bio-surveillance system designed to detect select aerosolized biological agents and remains a critical part of our nation's defense against biological threats."

"The development of the follow-on technology is being transferred to other DHS components for fiscal reasons. The department remains con-unit-ted to the BioWatch program and the cancelation of this acquisition has no impact on current operations within the office of health affairs," the official said.

The office of health affairs administers the current system and had spearheaded the effort to develop the next-generation sensors. BioWatch has been criticized by Congress, the Government Accountability Office and the press. It has had a high rate of false alarms, is labor intensive and slow. After technicians collect the samples, they must be taken to a laboratory and processed, which can take 36 to 48 hours. The effort to create a system that can do it all automatically was once high profile enough to be mentioned in then-President George W. Bush's 2003 state of the...