American Science and Engineering, Inc. Announces CEO Submits Testimony to Senate Sub-committee On Railroad and Maritime Security.

Business/Technology Editors

BILLERICA, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 2, 2001

American Science and Engineering, Inc. (AMEX:ASE) a leading developer and manufacturer of X-ray based inspection systems, announced that Ralph S. Sheridan, CEO and President, has submitted testimony before the Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Subcommittee under the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, chaired by U.S. Sen. John Breaux (D-LA). The hearing convened at the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill.

Following is Ralph S. Sheridan's testimony: "On September 11, 2001, a new form of global terrorism evaded the existing aviation security regimen in three airports, rendering obsolete previously held strategies for counter terrorism protection. The formerly discounted theory of well-financed, well-trained terrorists committing their lives en masse to accomplish their mission is today's horrific reality. Aviation was simply the vector of choice for that event. The delivery mechanism for achieving mass destruction could have been a sea container going intermodal by rail or highway. Regular highway cargo and airfreight could also have been involved. While the transportation infrastructure is enormous, we also know that it is a crime-ridden environment, which makes it more vulnerable to a terrorist breach. There are, however, important new advances in technology that can be applied to this national security challenge.

"Today, X-ray scanning technology exists to inspect, quickly and non-intrusively, trucks and sea containers to examine the contents for explosives or weapons of mass destruction based on radioactive materials. My company, American Science and Engineering is delivering this technology to ports and borders around the world. The technology was developed originally for Cold War application to scan missiles through railcars to confirm compliance with the INF treaty process. Later, it was applied to the scanning of Trident missiles to assure quality compliance. In the 1990's, this technology was funded for the specific application of truck examination to detect drugs crossing the southwest border. Today, there are nine AS&E fixed site inspection systems along the Mexican Border and sixteen MobileSearch(TM), truck mounted systems, deployed by U.S. Customs to scan for drugs. In addition, here in Washington a MobileSearch system scans all trucks entering the Ronald Reagan Federal Office Building to protect against a 1993 type World Trade Center bombing. This technology is also stationed at the U.S. Naval Base in Bahrain scanning all trucks entering the base in search of explosives.

"AS&E uses two technologies simultaneously to inspect cargo -- traditional transmission X-rays that penetrate the cargo and show density. The second, Z(R)Backscatter, has two functions: 1] the identification of organic materials, specifically drugs and explosives, and 2] the photographic quality of shape and form for ease in object identification of contraband, weapons or trade fraud.

"This technology is now being deployed extensively in the Middle East by our Allies to detect weapons and explosives that could be used by extremist Islamic elements to attack governments. It is also used for detection of trade fraud, cigarette and alcohol smuggling, and illegal stowaways in South Africa, the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. In Mexico, the Attorney General's Office has invested in ten MobileSearch systems to stop trucks at highway intersections looking for drugs, weapons and stowaways.

"Why is this of value? The events of three weeks ago prove that we are woefully unprotected from sophisticated terrorists' programmed attacks. The public is demanding that we protect them. Insurance companies are suggesting they will not cover transportation sectors for acts of terrorism. A great opportunity exists for a government/industry partnership to diminish the vulnerability of the transportation infrastructure to terrorist crimes.

"On Monday, U.S. Coast Guard Commander Stephen Flynn wrote in the New York Times "We must find a way to reduce the potential of our global transport lifelines to be conduits for terrorism. There needs to be a far greater international cooperation in policing transnational flows of people and goods."

"There is a collateral benefit. Seaports and land borders are havens for criminal activity in smuggling and cargo theft. By tightening the portals to our country, we will also address associated transportation crime, drug smuggling and trade fraud, which costs this country billions of dollars each year. Clearly, implementation of mass screening programs for cargo will be expensive. There is, however, a clear benefit --- the reduction of smuggling and cargo theft that plagues this industry.

"The technology is available and demonstrated. The benefit is not only in restoring public trust, but also in hardening our borders and ports against terrorist acts. The shipping and cargo industry also stands to benefit greatly by the reduction in cargo crime, which is a huge drain on our economy and directly affects the pocketbooks of all Americans. I ask this committee to consider five recommendations:

1. Create a unified command for borders and seaports joining Border Patrol, Coast Guard and Customs for assuring cohesion in achieving security in the transportation sector. This command will require budget for substantial staffing to carry out this mission.

2. Commit bold funding for the deployment of non-intrusive inspection technologies at ports and borders with a long-term goal of 100% confirmation of the contents of containers. Inspection technologies should be integrated with information technology systems, video surveillance of container loading, and industry shipper participation in verification.

3. Give this "unified command" the right to site systems inside ports and at border crossings through eminent domain type procedures.

4. Fund additional R&D efforts to enhance the effectiveness and speed of these and new technologies to reduce the hassle factor on the transportation sector.

5. Sanitize ports and borders by instituting background checks on all personnel having routine access with the intent of weeding out criminal elements.

"On Sunday, Attorney General John Ashcroft warned of potential additional attacks. No one knows what is actually in sea containers arriving in our country. We are clueless as to the threats breaching the Canadian border. It is time to make strong and fundamental changes that will protect the integrity of our borders against committed terrorists."

AS&E develops and manufactures sophisticated X-ray inspection products for critical detection and security applications. These systems are solving an expanding range of inspection problems, including detecting car and truck bombs, combatting weapons smuggling, personnel inspection, and imaging cargo to expose trade fraud and illegal immigration. AS&E's patented Z(R)Backscatter technology detects plastic explosives, illegal drugs, and other contraband, even when artfully concealed in complex backgrounds by terrorists and smugglers. For more information on AS&E products and technologies, please visit the Company's web site at http://www.as-e.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

The foregoing press release contains statements concerning the Company's financial performance and business operations, which may be considered "forward-looking" under applicable securities laws. The Company wishes to caution readers of this press release that actual results might differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements. Factors which might cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statement contained herein include the following: significant reductions or delays in procurements of the Company's systems by the United States and other governments; disruption in the supply of any sole-source component incorporated into the Company's products (of which there are several); litigation seeking to restrict the use of intellectual property used by the Company; potential product liability claims against the Company; global political trends and events which affect public perception of the threat presented by drugs, explosives and other contraband; global economic developments and the ability of governments and private organizations to fund purchases of the Company's products to address such threats; and the potential insufficiency of Company resources, including human resources, capital, plant and equipment and management systems, to accommodate any future growth. These and certain other factors which might cause actual results to differ materially from those projected are more fully set forth under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's Registration Statement on Form S-3 (SEC File No. 333-9151).