UT MEDICAL BRANCH GETS DELTA BLOCKADE.

Byline: Daily News

VALENCIA - Delta Scientific, with operations in Valencia and Palmdale, has installed one of its anti-terror blockade systems at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, which has a biochemical research program.

Texas is using Delta's decorative bollards to protect the drop-off area at its medical facility and a new vault constructed to house biochemical substances from car and truck bombs.

Three hydraulic barriers that can stop and destroy a 15,000-pound vehicle traveling at 50 mph were installed in front of the biochemical facility so that authorized vehicles can enter and exit as the bollards lower. Eleven fixed decorative barriers also were installed.

``The university wanted very high vehicle security for this new facility, which is located just behind the area where cancer patients are dropped off,'' said Doyle Hinds, president of American Security Integrators, which installed the Delta bollards. ``UTMB wanted 100 percent protection for its patients and the facility. The decorative casings also dress up the university.''

Although UTMB is a mile inland in Galveston, the installation was complicated by sandy soil and high tides, which caused the trench that was being dug for the bollards to fill up with saltwater every day. The sides of the pit were shored up with concrete, however, and the bollards are working.

Established in 1891 as the University of Texas Medical Department, the 84-acre campus includes four schools, three institutes for advanced study, a major medical library, a network of hospitals and clinics that provide a full range of primary and specialized medical care, an affiliated Shriners Burns Hospital, and numerous research facilities.

Delta is headquartered in Valencia and has a large production facility in Palmdale.

The company's products are used to protect government buildings, military installations and private enterprise worldwide against terrorism.