Smiths Detection to deploy chemical detectors at New York's Penn Station

The Penn Station subway station will get a little bit safer next year when the Metropolitan Transit Authority puts the final touches on a to-be-installed chemical detection system developed by Smiths Detection. Known as Protect (for Program for Response Options and Technology Enhancements for Chemical/Biological Terrorism), the system, like most continuous monitoring systems, sucks in air for rapid chemical analysis. According to the New York Times, the contract was awarded on a no-bid basis because Smiths offers the only system available.

Originally developed by the Argonne National Laboratory, Smiths originally deployed the nondescript metal boxes and software at Grand Central Station for the 2004 Republican National Convention, but operational concerns forced officials to reevaluate plans to deploy them to other stations. For one, the machines tended to clog in the face of brake dust and other particle irritants, a problem also faced by airport sniffers, of which Smiths is a manufacturer. In addition, the machines were constantly being set off by the heady brew of chemicals used to keep the subway stations clean. Finally, “technicians had to make the detection system’s software work with computer programs that the authority already had in place for emergency management.” These were all difficult tasks, but transit authorities and Smiths Detection believe they have been overcome.

Under the new contract, Smiths Detection, which also supplies handheld radiation detectors to the NYPD, will receive $611,000 to upgrade the system at Grand Central and another $1.7 to install a new one at Penn Station. A three year maintenence contract for both will earn the company an additional $1.7 million. The MTA is also considering adding similar devices at other heavily trafficked stations, but no decision has yet been made.

-read more in William Neuman’s New York Times report