DHS to upgrade nuclear detection capabilities.

The Department of Homeland Security awarded three contracts to upgrade its radiation detection portals at U.S. ports of entry. The $1.15 billion program aims to decrease the false alarm rates in current systems. Raytheon Co.'s Integrated Defense Systems, Thermo Electron Corp. and Canberra Industries Inc. were each given one-year contracts with four-year options.

Current devices, employed by Customs and Border Protection domestically and overseas, have had difficulty distinguishing between naturally occurring radiation and the type found in weapons. However, they will remain in place as the new system is rolled out.

"The advanced spectroscopic portal provides significant improvement in the detection of special nuclear materials such as highly enriched uranium and weapons grade plutonium," said Vayl Oxford, director of the DHS' domestic nuclear detection office.

Raytheon officials said their advanced spectroscopic system will be able to speed containers through portals at 20 to 30 miles per hour.

False alarm rates currently stand at about one of every 40 containers inspected, which is slowing down commerce, said Michael Sharp, Raytheon's ASP program director, at a press briefing. Such items as kitty litter and bananas have set off the machines.

The Massachusetts-based contractor will deliver 32 systems, with the first five to be shipped in November. These will be used to test the system.

While the initial contracts call for 80 portals, DHS wants 1,400 to be in place by 2011, DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff said. The Department of Energy through its Mega-Ports program will be in charge of deploying the portals overseas.

DHS is also beginning work on the cargo advanced automated radiography system, which will detect high-density material that could be used to shield radiological materials from ASP systems.

Lianne Ing, vice president of business development for Bubble Technology Industries, an Ontario, Canada-based subcontractor for Raytheon, said the November tests will prove the technology works.

"There's going to be a real and tangible difference in the performance when these systems are fielded," she said. Preliminary testing has shown a ten-fold improvement in reducing false alarms, she said.