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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY ARCHIVES

CASE STUDY: Analysis of Unknown Samples in a Methamphetamine Lab

A clandestine drug lab is a health and safety nightmare for first responders. The chemicals are almost never labelled. The initial on-site team is normally followed by several hazardous materials technicians. These experts need to make sure the crime scene is safe and dangerous items are properly handled before evidence

Technology Behind the Next Heat Emergency

According to the National Weather Service, there were 107 fatalities across the United States related to heat in 2017 – more than the deaths related to tornados, hurricanes, and cold weather combined. Local emergency management agencies must work closely with the National Weather Service – as well as other agencies and organizations

Managing Crisis & Disaster in a Connected Digital World

#SafetyBeforeSelfie – Please make sure to exit the burning building before texting, tweeting, posting, or live streaming about it. Surprisingly, the current security and emergency management (EM) environment that exists both in the public and increasingly in the private sector may necessitate such emergency warning statements as part of EM

Planning Needed – Climate Change Impact on Animals

Animal populations will be uniquely impacted by the increasing, changing, and compounding disasters attributed to the rapidly advancing effects of climate change. Companion animals will face displacement, livestock will suffer from physiological stressors, and wildlife may face localized extinctions. Animals from all sectors may experience increased instances of negative health

Securing Communities as National Security Threats Evolve

There is no quick fix for addressing all national security threats. Even if there were, it would still be challenging to keep up with the threat environment as it continually evolves at what seems to be exponential rates. The natural and manmade disasters of yesteryear are compounded with emerging cyber,

Three Ways AI Helps Prepare for Future Attacks

Terrorist attacks and mass shootings have changed the threat landscape. In the old-world paradigm, planes were the target and metallic objects were the key concern. In the new-world paradigm, anything can be a target. Thus, the security response needs to shift from reactive to proactive. Artificial intelligence (AI) is the

The Big Data Bind

The use of genealogy websites to find the alleged Golden State killer, Cambridge Analytica’s use of Facebook data to develop targeted ads for the 2016 presidential campaign, and the loss of privacy resulting from the sharing of information on social media bring into focus some of the unintended consequences of

Leveraging Learning & Teaching Opportunities

Each day, there are opportunities to acquire new knowledge and skills as well as opportunities to share current knowledge and skills with others. This is especially true in the emergency preparedness realm, where changing circumstances and uncertainties are the norm. However, these opportunities do not require teaching degrees or enrollment

The Need for Community Public Safety UAS Programs

Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS/drones) offer great value for public safety, with support and guidance needed at the local, state, and national levels when considering such systems. UAS offer a profound new view and situational awareness of significant incidents, events, and disasters. This article describes the value of UAS and provides

Aiding the Response to Fentanyl With Portable Equipment

Illegal manufacturing of fentanyl continues to rise and, with it, the dangers of clandestine drug laboratories to responders. Dangerous crime scenes like these are not limited to any one location. Responders everywhere need to prepare to encounter them at any point. Portable gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS) equipment can help

Averting Disaster – A Multi-Tier Approach

Disasters can take many forms – naturally occurring like a volcanic eruption or solar flare, human-caused like a terrorist attack or radioactive material release, or technological like a cyberattack or data breech. Although a specific threat or hazard may be unavoidable, whether it eventually becomes a “disaster” is not a

Detecting & Preventing Nuclear/Radioactive Materials

This case study from a 2015 deployment to the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) Combined Arms Training Center (CATC) Camp in Fuji, Japan, demonstrates effective ways to detect and prevent unwanted nuclear and radioactive materials from being brought aboard an overseas USMC installation. The author was deployed as the emergency manager

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