Bruker Daltonics Inc., a maker of mass spectrometry and detection technology, announced it has been awarded a $1.3 million follow-on Phase III contract by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for its work on the ARFCAM (Autonomous Rapid Facility Chemical Agent Monitor) program. The Phase III program is expected to last about three years, during which Bruker will continue to develop and test its ARFCAM technology. ARFCAM Phase III is intended to lead to a fully automated and unattended chemical agent and toxic chemical detector for government facilities and critical infrastructure by 2011, the company said. Bruker Daltonics has completed two phases of the ARFCAM DHS program, designed to protect government facilities from accidents or acts of terrorism using chemical weapons or toxic industrial chemicals. The technology uses the company's Raid detector technology, which is based on ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) and has an automatic alarm function. The company's work on phases I and II resulted in a commercial product line called the Raid-AFM (automated facilities monitor) for government and civilian use, including financial institutions, convention centers, hotels, sports venues and transportation facilities. The Raid-AFM, introduced at Pittcon 2007, has received a US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)-exempt license excluding it from radiation safety requirements, which Bruker said facilites installations and maintenance outside government. "In many countries including the US, the Raid-AFM, with its standard very low activity ion source, is exempt from radiation safety requirements and requires no registration, recordkeeping or special disposal," Bruker said. "In other countries, even the standard, very low activity source does require additional administrative steps, and a nonradioactive source is more convenient." The Raid-AFM can detect and identify a broad range of chemical warfare agents and toxic industrial chemicals with short response times at IDLH (immediate danger to live and health) levels, Bruker said. "It is designed to monitor critical infrastructure and larger buildings on a continuous 24/7 basis, without operator intervention and with minimal annual service requirements. This new stationary detector meets the evolving demand for a small, affordable instrument that is compatible with other typical building infrastructure, along with web-based diagnostics and control capabilities." The system is complemented by Bruker’s handheld Raid-M detectors for facility walk-throughs and problem localization. Bruker recently introduced two options to its Raid line: It is available as a bifunctional fully integrated nuclear and chemical system that can also detect radiological and nuclear threats, including potential attacks using so-called dirty bombs (conventional explosives with radioactive material), in addition chemical warfare agents and toxic industrial chemicals chemical detection; and with a non-radioactive ionization source.For more information, visit: www.bruker-biosciences.com