A Danbury firm says it has developed a unit the size of carryon luggage that enables soldiers and emergency responders to detect the presence of chemical warfare agents.
Smiths Detection describes its Guardion as a next-generation chemical threat detector.
Smiths President Mal Maginnis said the unit can confirm the presence and identity of chemical warfare agents and toxic industrial chemicals in gases, vapors, liquids and solids.
Smiths said it worked with Torion Technologies, of American Fork, Utah, to miniaturize the Guardian’s components, which include a high-resolution gas chromatograph (GC) and a miniaturized toroidal ion trap mass spectrometer (MS).
Meantime, engineers and researchers who worked on the Guardian project have been assigned to Smiths’ newly established GC/MS Center of Excellence in Danbury, where many of its systems to serve military and emergency responders are developed.
Smiths Detection has 105 workers at 21 Commerce Drive in Danbury.
Smiths Detection is part of London’s Smith Group PLC, whose divisions specialize in detecting toxic chemicals, explosives and nuclear devices.
