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Canadian Develops Chemical Agent Sensor
A professor at the University of Saskatchewan has received $130,000 from the Canadian National Defense Department to develop an inexpensively manufactured, handheld sensor for chemical weapons agents, the Saskatoon Star Phoenix reported today (see GSN, Oct. 3). The detector would use a minute silicon chip to detect toxic chemicals. It would carry a number of different probes, to better ensure detection of the various weapons agents that could be used in acts of terrorism. Sensors now in use are expensive to produce and produce results that require expert interpretation, said chemistry professor Bernie Kraatz. “It’s an issue when it comes to protecting the population,” he said. “(We should) raise awareness that these things are around. There’s no early warning systems out there.” A sensor produced by Kraatz and fellow researchers is capable of detecting toxic molecules to the parts-per trillion in liquid, the Star Phoenix reported. “We want to be able to detect things at a level far below [a] lethal dose, just to give people some lead time,” he said. Kraatz is working on sensors that use different techniques for detection (Janet French, The Star Phoenix, Dec. 20).
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