Explosive-trace Detection System Using Mass Spectrometry

OVERVIEW: The terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001 in the USA have radically changed the awareness of society towards both domestic and international security. These days, as a result of the destabilization of world affairs, terrorist attacks involving explosives or harmful chemical substances are happening all over the world, and the barbarity of such attacks has been worsening. In response to these circumstances, security inspection areas at airports and other important facilities are utilizing metal detectors and X-ray detection equipment to spot deadly weapons by revealing the presence of metal objects and the shape of baggage contents. However, it is difficult to detect the kind of explosives mentioned above by means of such detection equipment. To overcome this difficulty, new kinds of detection equipment, such as X-ray devices with tomography functions and detectors for identifying minute traces of explosive constituents left on target objects, are being installed. In addition, the terrorist threat posed by toxic chemical substances — which can be deadly in tiny amounts — is also on the rise. Accordingly, detection equipment that can meet this additional threat must also be deployed. Responding to the above-described security situation, Hitachi, Ltd. has developed and commercialized a mass-spectrometry detection system that utilizes the mass-spectrometry methods that we have acquired during the development of various analytical instruments.