countering the threat: new capability to detect hazardous ... · countering the threat: new...

Countering the threat: New capability to detect hazardous materials and Narcotics

Stephen Wood, Oxford UK

Setting the scene: recent incidents

Customs and law enforcement officers increasingly face hazardous materials…

2015 - TATP hidden in Motorcycle, Bangkok

VX Nerve agent KL, 2017

• Growth in production and use of new psychoactive substances NPS- some active at mcg levels

• Increasing availability of synthetic opiates (fentanyl, carfentanil etc.) – fatal dose in mg/mcg

Hazardous narcotics

Commercial in confidence

Capability gap

Need to improve:

• New capability

• Developed with UK and US Govt funding

• Identification through barriers AND direct line-of-sight

• No need to open or disturb containers


Resolve™


Through-Barrier Capability

New capability to detect & identify materials…

…in wide range of sealed non-metallic containers


ID Through Non-Transparent Barriers

Explosive Flammable Oxidising Corrosive Toxic

Containers Sacks Opaque plastic Coloured glass Envelopes

Environmentally Damaging

Example of Screening a package


• Line-of sight measurements, similar to conventional Raman ID systems

• Point and shoot Raman

Surface Scan Mode


• Custom vial holder

• Quickly identifies samples within clear glass vials

Vial Holder Mode


Simple to operate

• Opening packages to verify contents requires safety facilities and equipment

• Resolve removes the need to open parcels: ‒ Privacy is not

compromised

‒ Potential hazards remain contained


Envelope / Parcel Screening

Narcotics New psychoactive substances Medicines Benign chemicals

Examples of Materials

Example: Fentanyl detection

• ~All variants of Fentanyl tested can be detected through-barriers

• High motivation not to open package- severe hazard!

Sample type Description Composition Resolve?

“Pure” Fentanyl and derivates

As smuggled in glass, plastic wrapping Customs Investigation agencies Postal Police

Chemically close to 100% Strong motivation not to open container

Direct Through-barrier

“Cut Fentanyl”

Manufacturing sites Smuggling Investigation agencies Postal Police

~10% Fentanyl Strong motivation not to open container

Direct Through-barrier

“Fake pills”

Street/Dealers “Greenies”: e.g. fake Oxycodone/Oxycontin Police

Contains a few mgs of Fentanyl per pill

Direct Works with SERS kit

“Fake heroin” Street/Dealers Police

10% Fentanyl ~30% Heroin HCl/Base

Caffeine Acetaminophen Amphetamines

Cathinones

Direct Works with SERS kit

Resolve v Fentanyl

• White powder – Clear plastic bag & yellow padded envelope


Acetaminophen

• Cocaine mixed with excipients (lowest 9%), for example; ‒ Lactose

‒ Mannitol

‒ Benzocaine

Cocaine Mixtures

17% Cocaine / Lactose mixture Cocaine aqueous mixture in plastic pouch


Cocaine “Bullets” and Wraps

Cocaine plastic wrap Cocaine “bullets”


• Cocaine wrapped in multiple layers of tape, plastic wrapping and paper

• Identified as Cocaine in through-barrier mode

• Do not open container and risk unknown material release

• Time in protective equipment and breathing gear is used more efficiently

• Critical safety decisions can be made sooner

• Aids Global Shield programme of intercepting illicit pre-cursor chemicals used in IED’s


General Chemical Identification

Toxic industrial chemicals Acids Organic solvents Chlorinated solvents Oxidizers Hydrocarbons Flammable liquids Alcohols

Examples of Materials

• Palm oil containers from West Africa

• Raw unrefined palm oil


Palm Oil

• 25L Palm oil containers from West Africa

• Ammonium Nitrate/Sugar mixture (75/25)


Ammonium Nitrate “IED”

• Dark powder – Amber glass

• Oxidizing materials set as a ‘Priority’

‒ Result displays in RED

Potassium Permanganate


• Library packages: ‒ Standard

• Narcotics and NPS • Explosives • Household Chemicals • CWA’s

‒ Toxic and Hazardous Chemicals

‒ Comprehensive

• Can add chemicals to a custom library

• Can import an external library


Libraries and Management

• Spatially Offset Raman Spectroscopy (SORS) enables detection and ID through typical containers:

• No need to open or disturb threat • Reduced risk of exposure to operator • Reduced risk of detonation • Genuinely new capability

‒ Safe, fast and accurate ‒ Now deployed worldwide


Summary

• [email protected]

• See a demonstration at our Booth!

Thank you for listening


mailto:[email protected]

Appendix Slides


• Sucrose is a weak Raman scatterer

• No prior knowledge of barrier or user input is needed

How Resolve Identifies Through Containers


- Zero spectrum is dominated by HDPE

- Offset spectrum is dominated by sucrose


Raman Spectroscopy

Greater absorption Greater fluorescence interference


Why 830 nm excitation laser?

532 nm

Weaker Raman scattering (λ4) Less sensitive detectors

785 nm

830 nm

1064 nm

Note: The through-barrier capability primarily comes from SORS optics – not the laser!

A

“Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering” (SERS)

• What it is…

‒ Using metal nanostructures we can enhance the Raman signal by many orders of magnitude

• What it does…

‒ Enhances the signal from a small sample (<grain of sugar)

‒ Reduces fluorescence

• What we are developing

‒ Kit and/or app notes for detection of Heroin and “trace” levels of opioids

SERS

• Current library contains pure explosive materials (e.g. RDX and PETN) not mixtures (e.g. Semtex H)

• Resolve creates a mixture match from the individual components


Semtex H (RDX/PETN)

Surface scan Through-barrier scan

• TNT concealed behind thick HDPE container


2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene (TNT)

• TATB concealed within yellow HDPE container (4L African Palm Oil)


1,3,5-Triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TATB)

• Range testing of sensitive and primary explosives

• Resolve’s unique SORS geometry means: ‒ No detonation or

deflagration

‒ High quality data for material ID


Examples: Sensitive Explosives

Silver fulminate Mercury fulminate Sodium azide Lead azide Silver azide Lead styphnate Black powder

Materials tested include:

HMTD TATP MEKP Nitrocellulose Nitroglycerine PLX Hydrogen peroxide 80% + dark fuel

NOTE – Care and caution should always be exercised when scanning sensitive materials. A thorough risk assessment should be made and normal safe operating procedures should be followed.

• Point-and-shoot ID

• Very sensitive material

• High quality spectrum

• No detonation

Silver Fulminate


• Point-and-shoot and vial holder modes

• High quality data measured in 30-40 seconds

• No detonation/deflagration observed for any materials tested

Screening for Sensitive Explosives


Sensitive Explosives in Vials



SORS Scaled Subtraction

subtracted from

Scale factor x 1 = x 0.95 x 0.9 x 0.85 x 0.8 x 0.77

Zero Offset Measurement Spatially Offset Measurement

Match to contents reference spectrum

SORS Scaled Subtraction Result

Contents

• Do not open container and risk unknown material release

• Reduce possible safety and environmental impact


Motivation #1: Safety

e.g. Will opening the container make the situation more dangerous? Liquid is contained but may become explosive when mixed with air

HAZMAT response

• Gain information without disturbing the IED / precursor and risking detonation

• When searching: opening a jar/bottle potentially endangers soldiers

• Gather intelligence before disrupting device (improves future operations)


Motivation #2: Safety (cont.)

Military search, EOD, Special operations

• Max 1 hour Hazmat suit “wear time”

• Fast, simple, process (~30s), without taking a sample

• Time spent in “hotzone” is used more efficiently


Motivation #3: Time

HAZMAT suits / Breathing apparatus

• External residue may not accurately represent contents (swab or surface Raman/IR analysis)

• Labels may not be correct or not present

• Correct information allows critical decisions to be made sooner


Motivation #4: Accuracy

Lab search

“White powder incident”

• Illicit lab search

• Bottles that are correctly labelled can be ignored. Only suspicious items are examined further

• Allows crime scene and evidence to be examined in situ. Photographs can be taken and corroborating evidence generated


Motivation #5: Legal

• Post lab fire clear up

• Each item had to be removed separately, decontaminated and a sample taken

• Cost $1,200 to $1,400 per sample + storage costs

• 2 week turn around

• Job took 4 months


Motivation #6: Cost

Hazmat Warehouse clearance (private sector - SERCT)

• Air and seaport cargo inbound

• To open a fast parcel item it must first be quarantined and taken to a facility with fume hood and PPE

• RESOLVE could be an upstream screening tool


Motivation #7: Efficient Screening

• Drugs a major problem in UK/US prisons

• In UK, cannot open prisoners mail with reasonable suspicion

• Some US prisons now do not allow any mail due to this problem


Motivation #8: Privacy


System Overview

Laser Fire button - Clear LED “laser armed indicator” - Protected by recess

Removable nose cone and alignment guidance system - Non-contact use - Reduces risk of contamination

Simple control and navigational keys Enter, X Back - Large, widely spaced, keys for easy gloved use - Positive feedback on press

Large 4.7 inch display - High contrast graphics for easy viewing - Display mode for high/low light levels

countering the threat: new capability to detect hazardous ... · countering the threat: new...

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