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the capacity to ship up to 75 units in 1989, and 1000 machines in 1990. The units will sell for about $124,000 and will be

warranted for 12 months.

One or

EGIS detectors could be deployed in significant numbers this year. The system is most suited for use at the check-in line, while passengers are waiting to check in for the flight. two systems, operating with multiple sample probes, would be capable of screening all the luggage for a large Jumbo jet, without causing delays.

Also,

By their very nature, the vapor detectors which have been designed at Thermedics are passive. They are unobtrusive. they are relatively compact and low cost.

It must be appreciated that explosives detectors and other security related instrumentation can never be foolproof. However, X-ray, and the new generation of vapor and TNA technologies, all working together, complementing each other, could close each other's loopholes, and together offer significantly improved security.

In sum, with respect to EGIS, because of the foresight of the FAA and the Department of State in developing this new technology, it is a ready-to-go system now entering production. It will become available in quantities within the next several

months. If the FAA and Thermedics receive the R & D funding, the SecurScan portal passenger screening system could be available, as a production unit, in late 1990. If funds can be found for the proposed conveyor system for carry-on luggage, it too could be available by the end of 1990. These systems, together with the other security equipment, would complete the explosives detection package and provide airports, for the first time, with an effective security net against terrorist bombings.

We urge this Committee to ensure that in this time of budgetary cutbacks to meet the mandates of Gramm-Rudman, DOT and FAA be provided sufficient funding to finish the high tech. development which they so wisely began four years ago. The technology is there: give FAA the resources so that it can finish the job. No one would like to be here again soon, trying to explain to the families of new victims of another terrorist bombing why we had failed to act.

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lon Track Instruments, Inc.

109 Terrace Hall Avenue

Burlington, Massachusetts 01803 U.S.A.
Telephone (617) 272-7233 Twx 7103321808
Facsimile (617) 273-3066

STATEMENT

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS AND TRANSPORTATION, AVIATION SUBCOMMITTEE

TUESDAY, MARCH 21, 1989

DELIVERED BY

JOHN G. PADERSON
SALES AND MARKETING MANAGER

ION TRACK INSTRUMENTS INC.
617-272-7233

THEME

"TODAY'S SOLUTIONs for toDAY'S PROBLEMS"

Mr. Chairman, and Members of the Subcommittee:

Thank you

very much for the opportunity to appear before you to discuss what we can and should do today to make the travelling public more secure from bomb attack. Let me begin by introducing myself and my associate. I am John Paderson, Sales and Marketing

Manager for ION TRACK INSTRUMENTS INC.

During the past 15 years,

I have been involved in the development and application of security systems to protect against a variety of threats, including bombings. Joining me today is Mr. Anthony Jenkins, who was one of the first scientists to develop a practical explosives detector and is a leading authority in the field. He is also, I am pleased to say, our Group Technical Director. It should be noted that Mr. Jenkins developed his first explosive detector almost 20 years ago at the request of the British Government in response to the Northern Ireland situation. Explosives detection is not a new science but has been a commercial industry for the past almost 20 years. ITI Explosives Detectors, in wide use today, could be helpful in detecting approximately 99% of the domestic high explosive threat and approximately 84% of the perceived international threat including SEMTEX. ITI Explosives Detectors daily search tens of thousands of people and packages in the U. S. alone.

The U. S. Nuclear Power Industry is required by Federal Law to search every person entering each facility for concealed explosives. 80% of those plants use ITI Walk Thru and Portable Explosives Detectors. Our own Federal Government, including the

U. S. Navy, the U.S. Army, and the U. S. Department of Energy, are using ITI Explosives Detectors because they perceive the

threat to their organizations to be acute.

The airline industry

In the past, the

today finds itself in the same situation. threat was hijackers. Their weapons were knives and guns. Now the new threat is terrorists and criminals and their preferred weapon is the improved explosive device. Bombs are easy to make, easy to conceal and once placed, afford the bomber a high degree of safety and security. The tragic losses of Pan Am Flight 103, Korean Air Flight 858, and Air India Flight 182, to other bomb attacks and the fact that there were 1,831 high explosive bombings in the U. S. between 1976 and 1985, underscores the urgency of the situation.

The x-ray machines and metal detectors currently in use were deployed to counter the hijacking threat. The threat has changed and the effectiveness of the system in meeting this new threat can be greatly improved by the use of commercially available explosives detectors. Looking for a bomb in baggage without an explosives detector is like looking for a gun or knife in that same baggage without an x-ray machine.

Commercially available explosives detectors such as this ITI Portable Instrument (Model 97), and this ITI Walk Thru instrument (Model 85), can significantly enhance the capabilities of what is currently in place. The ITI Portable Instrument (Model 97) was recently tested in cooperation with the FAA at Boston in Logan Airport. The results show that it can be integrated into the

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