WASHINGTON—The Department of Homeland Security’s Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office (CWMD) awarded a $6.7M task order to procure 2,364 Polimaster next-generation personal radiation detectors (PRDs) for the U.S. Coast Guard. These PRDs are specialized for use in a maritime environment to detect radiological and nuclear threats. The task order award was made under an existing blanket purchase agreement with William F. Hawk Consulting.
“As detection capabilities continue to advance, DHS must stay ahead of the curve,” said CWMD acting Assistant Secretary Gary Rasicot. “I am proud of the CWMD team for working hard to ensure that USCG personnel has the best technology available to carry out their critical mission.”
Standard PRDs are pager-size devices worn by operators to detect radiological and nuclear threats. Since the maritime environment poses a challenge for standard PRDs, CWMD worked to adjust the device’s capabilities to detect emerging threats on the seas. U.S. Coast Guard utilizes the maritime variant PRDs to monitor their unique environment, in addition to land environments, for changes in the natural radiation level. Maritime variant PRDs signal a threat is present by alarming the user if the sea environment’s radiation level exceeds the natural amount and localizes the threat.
CWMD announced the first contract award to procure maritime variant PRDs in July 2020 for 3,001 devices and associated training. This latest task order of 2,364 PRDs is anticipated to be completed in July 2022.
CWMD serves as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s focal point for counter-WMD efforts. By supporting operational partners across federal, state, and local levels, CWMD coordinates and manages the detection effort for chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear (CBRN), and health security threats. CWMD is committed to enhancing domestic law enforcement and first responder detection, interdiction, response, and reporting of CBRN threats.