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Former DHS secretary joins BPSI advisory board
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Building Protection Systems (BPSI)
: 04 June, 2009 (Company News) |
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Real-Time toxin detection experts hire former secretary of the Department of Homeland Security as an advisor to their team |
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Building Protection Systems (BPSI) welcomes Tom Ridge, the first US Secretary of Homeland Security and former governor of Pennsylvania, as senior advisor to the technology firm. Consulting firm Ridge Global, led by Ridge, will advise on the strategic marketing of BPSI's flagship Building Sentry One product line. Building Sentry One recently received a 20-year patent for 'building protection and method' from the United States Patent Office and is also a US Department of Homeland Security SAFETY Act designated qualified anti-terrorist technology (QATT).
"BPSI's toxin detection system provides enormous value to our country's efforts to keep our citizens and critical infrastructure safe from chemical, Dirty Bomb and other radiological attacks," said Ridge. "We look forward to working with BPSI to decrease our vulnerability to such attacks and to increase availability of this significant technology throughout the global security technology market."
"Secretary Ridge and his team will be an incredible asset to BPSI," said Greg Eiler, president and CEO of BPSI. "Ridge Global's expertise in the homeland security space is unparalleled. It is an honor to have this accomplished group of security professionals at our side as we continue to roll out our innovative and critical new security technology."
Last quarter, BPSI completed installation of Building Sentry One at a Fortune 100 company's corporate headquarters in the New York metropolitan area. The company's toxin detection system technology received a 20-year US patent in February 2009. In June 2008 the Department of Homeland Security issued full SAFETY Act designation to BPSI's technology.
The former Secretary and his team at Ridge Global will be working with the BPSI management team on strategic sales opportunities and acting as a sounding board for the research and development of new solutions.
Buildings are extremely vulnerable - everything from government facilities and transportation hubs to residential structures and Class-A office space. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Edgewood and Lawrence Berkeley National Labs point out that a potentially catastrophic vulnerability is a building's ventilation system. Toxic chemicals or radiation from a Dirty Bomb can be introduced easily through outside air-intake vents that bring fresh air into a building or return air intakes on any floor that recycle air within the building. These intakes are easily accessible inside a building; outside, the intakes are often located at ground level or on the roof - and are rarely secure. Once toxins are released, the building's air distribution system will silently circulate the toxins throughout the building within minutes, injuring or killing occupants and rendering the building unusable.
A technological solution to protect against these dangers is the installation of automated air-sampling systems that can quickly and automatically shut down a facility's fans and dampers, if a contaminant is detected.
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