WMD sniffer protected the Super Bowl

Feb 14, 2006 10:10 AM

A National Guard unit specializing in intercepting weapons of mass destruction was among the crowd at the Super Bowl game in Detroit.
The 51st Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team was deployed with a monitoring system developed by MSA, a high-tech security firm based in Pittsburgh, and can detect up to six WMD threats simultaneously, United Press International reports.
The prospect of terrorists hitting a high-profile event such as Super Bowl has been a concern to security planners since well before the Sept. 11 attacks. Security at the game was heavy with an army of police on the ground and airborne fighters enforcing a no-fly zone above Detroit.
The 51st is a Michigan National Guard outfit trained to assist local first-responders in identifying and countering WMD threats. MSA said in a news release that the SAFESITE System is a portable detector that can sniff out chemical warfare agents and toxic chemicals as well as more exotic sources of gamma radiation, volatile organic compounds, combustible gases and even oxygen deficiencies.
The devices are linked wirelessly to a command center so that a warning is quickly dispatched to incident commanders.

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