Major U.S. Emergency Response Team Boosts Capabilities with HazMatID Elite Chemical Identifier

One of the largest state law enforcement agencies in the U.S. has bought the first of Smiths Detection's new HazMatID Elite units, a handheld device that detects and identifies explosives, chemical warfare agents, toxic industrials and narcotics.

The Elite, which provides emergency response teams with on-scene capability to quickly identify unknown substances, was bought by the New Jersey State Police. It is the next generation of Smiths Detection's HazMatID, the most widely used field-portable Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) solid and liquid identifier.

Ten times smaller and four times lighter than the original, Elite uses innovative sampling techniques for reliable determination of suspicious powders plus direct surface contaminant analysis and robotics integration. It is the only system of its kind certified to the strictest military standard for use in the most extreme climates.

James Viscardi, Vice President for U.S. Critical Infrastructure and Emergency Response, Smiths Detection, said: "Smiths Detection designed HazMatID Elite specifically to help emergency responders like the New Jersey State Police protect lives and secure assets from a broad range of evolving threats. It provides easy-to-use chemical analysis tools that can be relied on to inform response decisions. Our technology is backed by a commitment to training and service that has made Smiths Detection the world's leading provider of advanced technologies to identify constantly evolving CBRNE threats and contraband."

HazMatID Elite's enhanced functionality includes an intuitive interface and self-guided software as well as encrypted wireless communications that supports mobile response operations. Personnel can train to use the system in under an hour, far less time and resources than required for comparable equipment.