November 21, 2002. Copyright 2002. Graphic News. All rights reserved.

High-tech weapons inspections get underway

LONDON, November 21, Graphic News: Some of the worldÕs best scientific sleuths have prepared fast, portable detectors, on-the-spot analysis devices, computerized fuel monitors and other new gadgets to boost UN inspectorsÕ capabilities to smoke out IraqÕs weapons of mass destruction.
Over the coming weeks some 270 inspectors from 48 countries will search for evidence of the production of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons at hundreds of sites across Iraq. 
To make the task harder, inspections will have to be completed in just 60 days -- before chief weapons inspector Hans Blix has to report to the Security Council. The work will be hot and dirty, with electricity in short supply. The stakes will be global, the pressure intense. ItÕs like no other science project.
Before setting off for Iraq, Blix, who is in charge of chemical and biological inspections, said that Òpowerful new means of verificationÓ would be used during the mission. The UN inspection teams -- known as Unmovic -- will be based in Baghdad and operate in four or five-strong squads, which could swell to 20-30 on major inspection projects.
Among the array of gadgets at their disposal are spy satellites and ÒPredatorÓ robot planes which can photograph sites in greater detail than ever, a hand-held ÒRangerÓ -- a probe capable of detecting gamma and neutron radiation from materials with nuclear applications, and ÒHanaaÓ -- a hand-held analyser which can detect anthrax or plague within minutes.
A new generation of digital cameras will film sites and beam the encrypted satellite images directly to International Atomic Energy Agency headquarters in Vienna, Austria, for analysis.
The toaster-size digital cameras are tamper-proof, resistant to dismantling by non-IAEA staff and can work for days on a battery if external power is cut. 
Improved ground-penetrating radar will be able to detect materials buried up to 100 feet (30 metres) underground, and computerized irradiated fuel monitors will measure the amount of radioactive fuel produced by a reactor to ensure none of it is diverted for nuclear use. Besides IAEA teams, Unmovic will also send squads to search for biological and chemical weapons and the long-range missiles capable of delivering them.
State-of-the-art sensors, developed at AmericaÕs Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, will be used to detect chemical and biological warfare agents. Baghdad is presumed to have renewed production of mustard gas, sarin, cyclosarin and VX. 
Using a technique known as Ion Mobility Spectrometry (IMS), these hand-held devices can rapidly analyse swabs to detect suspect chemical materials in the air, water and soil. In the past, swabs or other samples have had to be sent back to a main inspection centre or even flown to the United States or Europe for analysis.
The Hanaa, or Hand-held Advanced Nucleic-Acid Analyser, works by identifying the signatures of organisms likely to be used in biological weapons. These signatures are telltale bits of DNA unique to each pathogen.
Hanaa uses a sophisticated technique known as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to amplify and identify the pathogenÕs DNA in order to make a Ògenetic fingerprint.Ó The procedure normally takes days and PCR is usually performed in a specialized laboratory, but Hanaa offers a new 15-minute field-testing kit to identify bio-agents such as anthrax.
Scientists working with the Santa Clara-based company Affymetrix have developed gene chips similar to computer chips that store unique genetic information for various pathogen strains, allowing quick analysis of unknown agents.
ÒThis time around, it should be possible to rapidly see what kind of organism theyÕre dealing with and get much more definitive answers,Ó said Stanford biophysicist Steven Block, a senior fellow at the Institute for International Studies and a biochemical weapons expert.
ÒThe more accurately you can measure,Ó Block said, Òthe more you can say, ÔSomething was here yesterday but might have been removed.ÕÓ
/ENDS

Sources: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Institute for International Studies, Science