Posted on Thu, Mar. 06, 2003

Personal dosimeter gives new meaning to "hot or not": Those among you who find personal low-tech anti-terrorism measures like duct tape and plastic sheeting to be beneath you would do well to direct your attention to Chicago, the site of initial trials of a new credit-card-size radiation detector. Manufactured by J.P. Laboratories, these personal dosimeters provide immediate readings on radiation. Those carrying them will know, within moments, whether have been exposed to radiation generated by "dirty bombs" and the like ("Here, I'll just use my Visa ... OH MY GOD!"). Helping to speed these devices along to market is a little known Department of Defense office called the Technical Support Working Group (TSWG). Established well over a decade ago to ensure that antiterrorism measures find their way out of the laboratory and into the hands of those who may need them, TSWG reviews proposals for technologies like the dosimeter mentioned above, and funds those it deems worthy. Since Sept. 11 the agency has reviewed some 16,000 proposals. Of those, only 120 made the cut. The TSWG will soon issue its first public call for antiterrorism gadgets on behalf of the new Department of Homeland Security, which has promised to kick $30 million into the group's budget.