Presentation

Filter
Detection Technology

Evaluation

Links

Filter detection with dogs – FDT (Filter Detection Technology)

The Filter Detection Technology system (FDT) is a quick, extremely sensitive and quality-assured method for detection of various substances. The system involves using specially trained sniffer dogs which detect scent substances in extremely low concentrations. The dogs work in a laboratory, with strictly controlled routines, as an analysis instrument to detect the presence of trace elements from specific substances.

The FDT system can be used to detect all types of substance which have molecules with detectable vapour pressure. The equipment and type of filter may have to be modified and adjusted for certain cases, but the technique used when training the sniffer dogs remains the same. The scent substance to be detected is collected in filters by sucking air and dust particles from an object or area to be examined. This can be achieved by leaving a filter in the immediate area, placing the filter near a vent shaft or by filtering air with the use of a portable vacuum pump. The exact position/location, date and time is marked on each filter, and then they are sent for analysis by specially trained sniffer dogs. These will indicate whether they detect trace elements of the scent substance in question.

Use of FDT in new contexts
The development of techniques and methods related to FDT has helped NOKSH A/S realise the potential inherent in new areas of application. The combination of technology with an efficient and reliable training system has marked a new era for use of dogs as detectors.
NOKSH A/S can collaborate with chemists and technical personnel to create filters and modify equipment to allow use of the method for detection of all types of substances, provided they contain molecules with detectable vapour pressure.

The FDT, or REST, has become the quickest, most reliable and most cost-effective system within humanitarian demining with regards searching for mines in areas which are suspected to contain mines. The REST system has demonstrated the capacity to search large areas in a minimum of time and detect extremely low concentrations of scent substances (explosives). The use of this method alone or in combination with other techniques would be a huge step in the right direction for detecting, for example, explosives and narcotics in cars, juggernauts, trains, boats etc. The system can also be used to verify searches of persons, where required.

NOKSH A/S has started work on trials and tests of the system within new areas, some of which can already show good results. In addition to filter detection for mines and explosives, NOKSH A/S has also become involved in testing the system in relation to pollution, oil leakages in electrical cables, medicine etc. And should any other parties request assistance for detection of specific substances, biological material etc., NOKSH A/S would naturally provide their services and expertise, initially evaluating to what extent the system could be used in each specific case.

New project with trials of REST in Bosnia

In 2002, GICHD decided to take the REST research programme one step further by implementing practical trials of the method in Bosnia-Herzegovina. NOKSH A/S used their 4 REST dogs to analyse filters sent to Norway from the Balkans.

Remote Explosive Scent Tracing (REST)

In the year 2000, the Geneva International Center for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) took the initiative to launch a comprehensive research program, the Mine Detection Dog study (MDD), regarding use of animals for detection of mines. This program also included the further development of a special search technique, called Remote Explosive Scent Tracing (REST).

REST is a concept which involves scent from a source being collected on filters and presented to animals (dogs) for analysis (detection). In the case of searching for landmines, this involves “vacuuming” areas of land where trace elements from landmines are suspected. Air carrying possible scent molecules is sucked up through a filter from armoured vehicles or portable vacuum pumps. The filters are then transported to the laboratory where they have dogs specially trained to indicate when they detect special scent substances from explosives and mines. These dogs have received a special type of training which allows them to detect scents at extremely low concentrations. The analysis of filters is carried out by the dogs in laboratories where strict internal control routines are applied in order to ensure detection reliability.

Background
The REST system was developed by the South African government, more specifically by Mechem Consultants, a department of Denel, (Pty), Ltd. at the end of the 1980s. The method was initially referred to as MEDDS (Mechem Explosives and Drug Detection System). Norwegian People’s Aid in Angola has used the term EVD (Explosive Vapour Detection) to describe the same method. The original purpose of the method was to detect drugs, explosives and weapons at border posts. It was utilised at many border control posts established by South Africa along the borders with Swaziland and Lesotho, but also on border posts with Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Botswana. Experience gathered from this type of use showed that the system could be easily moved and had the capacity to control a large number of vehicles, train carriages and other cargo carriers in short times and requiring a very limited number of people.

During the period in the early 1990s when the REST system was first utilised operationally in South Africa, there was little or no documentation of how the system was developed. Despite its obvious success in providing an efficient technology for area reduction, the REST system has to date failed to make its mark within the field of humanitarian demining. The reasons behind the limited circulation of the system could be many, but the most obvious are lack of skills regarding training and practical use of dogs as detectors.

The GICHD therefore decided to allocate the task of describing and documenting the REST system to NOKSH A/S. The GICHD signed a contract with NOKSH A/S in June 2000, which included the REST system as one of the projects to be completed within the GICHD-MDD study. During the implementation of the various parts of the study, NOKSH A/S worked closely together with the South Africans in addition to an extensive network of researchers from various institutions in the USA, Sweden, England and Norway. The project was completed in the summer of 2001 and the final report approved and submitted to GICHD in the autumn of the same year. (Sub-study 4 - Remote Explosive Scent Tracing).

Filter samples were taken by Norwegian People’s Aid in Bosnia from the test fields used by the organisation around Sarajevo and Mostar. These are highly genuine minefields, where the mines have been underground for some time, in some cases up to several years. The results of the trial project were positive, and the report concluded that the REST system can be utilised to detect mines in Bosnia [pdf.fil, Bosnia-rapport]. The results of the Bosnia trials indicated that filter samples did not necessarily have to be analysed nearby the “mine areas”, but could advantageously take place in centralised analysis centres. GICHD also considers this to be the most cost-effective solution, and has indicated that NOKSH A/S could be one of the centres where such analyses would be performed.

In 2003, NOKSH A/S is involved on a development programme involving REST in Angola. As part of this programme, NOKSH A/S shall implement their experience with the REST system into Norwegian People’s Aid’s dog programme. The project also comprises a research-related contract for GICHD.