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Blanket provides protection against dirty bombs

Suppression blanket tailored to reduce radiation emissions.

Mark Rutherford
The military establishment's ever increasing reliance on technology and whiz-bang gadgetry impacts us as consumers, investors, taxpayers and ultimately as the defended. Our mission here is to bring some of these products and concepts to your attention based on carefully selected criteria such as importance to national security, originality, collateral damage to the treasury and adaptability to yard maintenance-but not necessarily in that order. E-mail him at markr@milapp.com. Disclosure.
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Mark Rutherford
RST

The first instinct when confronted with a radiological explosive device may be to turn tail and run, but the new Demron-W Nuclear/Ballistic Shield affords the opportunity to stick around and save the day.

The Demron suppression blanket provides total protection against ballistics, improvised explosive devices, dirty bombs, spills, and all types of radiological and nuclear incidents, according to Miami-based manufacturer Radiation Shield Technologies (RST).

It acts as a portable shield, tailored to reduce emissions from contained high-energy sources such as Cesium-137, and neutron sources and Americium-Beryllium. It's perfect for covering undetonated radiological dispersal devices, RST says.

The material, described as "liquid metal," was invented by Miami doctor Ronald F. DeMeo, after he "noticed that he was getting kind of burned" while giving X-rays to patients (PDF).

The flame- and acid-resistant shield is made with a patented fabric that consists of a radiopaque nano-polymeric compound fused between layers of fabric and then manufactured into the nuclear-radiation blocking blanket. The outer covering is 1000 Denier Cordura and comes in black or red.