[ChemBrin] Tracking NYC farts

[Major Variola (ret)]

[And in a few years, the sensors will be augmented with tobacco, pot,
maybe programmable
DNA-scurf detectors.]

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/89128p-81072c.html
Federal scientists will soon blanket the heart of midtown and the West
Village with high-tech sensors designed to track biological, chemical
and radiological agents in the event of a terrorist attack.

 The security project is a first step toward creating a vast network of
sensors that can predict how the fallout from a weapon of mass
destruction might spread through the city.

 "We would like to work out what areas would be dangerous and, more
importantly, what areas would be safe," said Bruce Hicks, director of
the Air Resources Laboratory of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration.

 The research is considered crucial because mathematical and computer
models that forecast the airborne paths of toxins were designed for
rural areas, not cities.

 "Right now, the models that we have are not set up for dense urban
areas with the canyons and the complexities that exist in New York,"
said Dr. Ralph James, director of the Energy, Environment and National
Security unit at Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island.

 Five sensors already have been placed as part of the project, called
the Urban Atmospheric Observatory.

 The instruments, attached to a federal building near Varick and W.
Houston Sts., measure wind direction, velocity and turbulence.

 Scores of similar sensors, as well as radiation detectors, are expected
to be placed this year around midtown and the West Village - considered
potential terrorist targets.

Tracing gases

 "Anywhere we can hang an instrument, we are going to try to get one out
there," said Michael Reynolds, a research scientist at the Brookhaven
labs, part of the Energy Department.

 This summer, federal scientists plan to release benign gases in
Manhattan and use the sensors to track them.

 "That way, we can really get an idea of how well the models work,"
Reynolds said.

 A similar program, called DCNet, is underway in Washington, where 13
sensors have been placed near sensitive sites, including the White
House.

 New York is seeking up to $10 million from the Homeland Security
Department to expand its network.

 Reynolds said it would cost about $30 million to $40 million a year to
fully implement the sensors in New York.