Tech firm Kromek kept heads of state safe at the recent NATO summit in Brussels after its nuclear-detection devices were deployed across the city.
The Sedgefield company’s D3S “dirty bomb” radiation detectors have previously been used to protect world leaders, including two former US presidents.
Last week 30 NATO heads of state gathered in Brussels, Belgium, for an emergency summit to discuss Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine.
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Part of the security infrastructure deployed to protect the allies included the D3S-ID radiation detectors, manufactured by engineers at Kromek’s NETPark base in County Durham.
D3S-IDs are wearable nuclear radiation detectors, designed to enable first responders, armed forces, border security and other chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear experts to identify threats.
They are one of the fastest and most accurate isotope-identification devices on the market and is also a fraction of the size and cost of similar products.
The device is designed to detect radiological threats like dirty bombs, radioactive contamination, smuggling of radioactive substances and radiation at the scene of an accident or terrorist attack.
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Dr Arnab Basu, chief executive of Kromek, said: “In light of the reports of turmoil at the Chernobyl site and in the battle over Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, the global community is alive to immediate nuclear dangers. These emerge both from damaged infrastructure and the growing threat of dirty bombs being manufactured using radioactive waste.
“Consequently, governments and their agencies are increasingly expected to enhance their wide area monitoring to be able to provide early warning of the presence of nuclear material. Kromek products are world-leading in delivering this capability, demonstrated by their deployment at events such as NATO in Brussels last week.”
Earlier this year the firm, which develops radiation detection and bio-detection technology solutions for the medical, security screening and nuclear sectors, urged the Government to invest in technology to prevent a future pandemic.
The AIM-listed business, which has a second base in the US, published a document, ‘Future biological threats and mitigation’, which called on Government decision-makers to treat the Covid-19 pandemic as a wake-up call rather than a one-off event, while making a number of recommendations.