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High-Tech Tools Detect Weapons of Mass Destruction at Los Angeles Port Complex

HAZMAT canine, Labrador Johnny Ringo, and Detective Wayne Carpini, Los Angeles Sheriff's Department HAZMAT Detail/Photo courtesy of Wayne Carpini

HAZMAT canine, Labrador retriever Johnny Ringo, and Detective Wayne Carpini, Los Angeles Sheriff's Department HAZMAT Detail

March 8, 2010 By Russell Nichols

Photo: Labrador Johnny Ringo and his handler, Detective Wayne Carpini, work as a team to detect chemical and biological weapons. Photo courtesy of Wayne Carpini.

On paper, it reads like a prop list for a high-budget futuristic action thriller: a $3 million high-tech screening ship, a radiation-detecting helicopter and a badge-carrying black Labrador retriever that can sniff out chemical and biological weapons.

But this is no movie. At the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex, these tactical tools represent the latest in artillery aimed to prevent weapons of mass destruction from infiltrating a critical infrastructure, where 40 percent of all U.S. imports enter the country. How critical is this port complex? Consider this: If an incident forced the port complex to be shut down, it would cost the U.S. economy about $1 billion a day, said Jack Ewell, who oversees the project for the L.A. Sheriff's Department.

"That would flat-out cripple the economy if all of these agencies weren't working together to ensure the safety of that complex," he said. "We want to stop anything that may be illicit before it gets in the port."

With cutting-edge detection technology, officials said, this project has not only upgraded collaboration efforts between the various agencies, but it also will enhance port security at the busiest container port in the nation.

The 55-foot screening vessel, the Ocean Rescue II, can scan the hulls of ships entering the port complex, detect traces of weapons of mass destruction materials and transmit real-time data to land-based labs. The Eurocopter AS350B2 Helicopter's advanced radiation-detection pod, worth $220,000, allows authorities to screen ships from above. And the HAZMAT canine, named Johnny Ringo, is the only active dog in the world with a nose trained to track dangerous chemical and biological agents.

For more information on the WMD screening tools, please visit Emergency Management magazine.

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