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New York City Tests Weapons Detection Systems
Officials with New York City’s Metropolitan Transit Authority are in the trial phases of testing biological or chemical agent detection methods in Grand Central Terminal, the New York Sun reported today (see GSN, July 7). MTA Deputy Chief of Police Ronald Masciana gave reporters a tour of the three biological systems and lone chemical detector being tested in the terminal. A 6-foot-tall steel box, collects samples that are checked each day for biological agents. Two other detectors are positioned near train tracks, according to the Sun. “Keep in mind that all three are being tested now. We kept the first one going because that is the baseline the others grow upon,” Masciana said. “You can’t depend on lab results. You can’t depend on what the vendor indicates is best for you. ... What you want to do is test it real-time and see how it operates.” Masciana noted that the same biological agent detection systems are being tested at New York’s Pennsylvania Station. The chemical detection system being tested at Grand Central uses video cameras to focus on an area where an agent has been detected by sensors. This would allow first responders to prepare evacuation routes and determine how many casualties have resulted from an attack. The cost and for the systems to go online is not yet known, officials said. Critics charge that New York’s Transportation Authority been slow to spend the $591 million in federal and state funds allocated for security in its 2000-2004 capital plan. Transit Authority officials said that money for biological and chemical detectors would not come out of the $591 million. Instead, the money is set to be spent on closed-circuit television systems and other surveillance devices, according to MTA spokesman Ashok Patel (Jeremy Smerd, New York Sun, July 12).
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