Sniffer technology

The 1985 tragedy of Air India Flight 182, which exploded off Ireland en route from Montreal to London, stimulated an intensified effort to thwart terrorists. The International Security and Development Act of 1985 provided for air marshals and expanded FAA s R D for airport security. Thermal neutron analysis (TNA) and a number of sniffer technologies for trace explosives detection, which had been developed under FAA sponsorship, were accelerated toward commercial production. 

As a result of their low vapour pressures, explosives detection in realtime using sniffer technologies presents significant detection challenges. A breakthrough that has enabled a paradigm shift toward explosive vapour detection came in 1998 when our group developed a sensory material with extraordinary sensitivity to TNT and DNT (trinitrotoluene and di-... 

M. laGrone, C. Cumming, M. Fisher, M. Fox, S. Jacob, D. Reust, M. Rockley and E. Towers, Detection of landmines by amplified fluorescence quenching of polymer films A man portable chemical sniffer for detection of ultratrace concentrations of explosives emanating from landmines, Proc. SPIE, Detection and Remediation Technologies for Mines and Minelike Targets V, 4038 (2000) 553-562. 

Survey. The efficiency of mercury removal can be confirmed by using a mercury sniffer, a mercury vapor analyzer. There are several models available, but the best ones for laboratory use are those that are based on gold-film technology. Organic materials can interfere with the operation of some analyzers, thus making detection of residual mercury difficult in porous materials like shoes or rubber cart wheels. 

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