The FBI contacted Sandia after 5 people died and others were hospitalized during anthrax attacks in 2001 involving letters containing bacillus anthracis bacterium sent to the press and to 2 U.S. senators. The FBI sought Sandia’s help and answers that only experts at a world-class facility could uncover. Sandia was the first team to alert the FBI that the spores in all the letter-attacks had a common signature and were not weaponized— suggesting the spores had originated in the same source laboratory. DNA studies corroborated Sandia’s findings, instrumental to the FBI’s investigation.
The U.S. needs an agile, proactive approach to anticipating, deterring, and defeating threats from explosive attacks by terrorists. Since the explosive attacks in London in July 2005, Sandia has been actively engaged in providing scientific understanding to Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) decision makers.
The National Infrastructure Simulation and Analysis Center (NISAC), a U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) program co-led by Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratory, completed a two-year examination of potential impacts of pandemic influenza on the nation’s population, critical infrastructures, and economy.
Physical fences are only one component of a comprehensive border security system, and only one of several areas where Sandia is involved in border security work. Sandia’s security capabilities encompass the full spectrum of physical security, including intrusion detection, alarm assessment technologies, performance testing, technology evaluation, vulnerability assessment, design, development, installation, and training.
Because today’s security challenges require facilities to do more than deter adversaries or detect them as they penetrate fences, Sandia developed “beyond-the-perimeter” sensor and assessment defense systems. Virtual Presence and Extended Defense (VPED) systems provide reliable information to responders as early and as quickly as possible to create detection zones and video assessments where none previously existed along such potential avenues of approach as roads, trails, or ravines. VPED was installed as a pilot system to assess detection probabilities, adapting to the environment, and nuisance-alarm rates.
Sandia National Laboratories has been supporting the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) since DNDO’s inception in 2005. Sandia provides some level of support for each of the seven main DNDO directorates, from basic research and development in radiation detector materials to 24/7 technical reachback response. Our contributions range from fundamental to applied research and development, to systems analysis and test and evaluation, to day-to-day operational support and forensics and attribution.