How safe are you when you go to a sports stadium? The news is currently filled with details of the recent events in Greece featuring a flare deployed during a sports event that left a police officer first with his leg amputated and ultimately death. Unfortunately reports of violent events like these are becoming more prevalent and it’s hard to say how many times harmful materials are being brought to sporting events and going undetected.
Over the last decade, news reports have piled up as fans across the globe found ways to smuggle in dangerous explosive devices like flares and fireworks. These materials can not only directly injure people, but also create a lot of harmful smoke, fires, and panic. In December 2022, Australian fans threw flares on the field and attacked a goalie. As far back as 2016, the BBC was talking about increased cases of flares and pyrotechnics being thrown at football stadiums in Europe and South America. But what has been done to reduce these imminent risks and protect the public?
These instances and so many others could have been prevented if people had been checked for explosives materials when they entered the venue, and a clear screening policy is made to look for flares, fireworks, and similar materials. With the use of a simple trace detector like the EDT-100 by GreyScan, attendees can be swabbed for trace materials left on their clothing or skin even days earlier, stopping anyone will ill intentions.
The ETD-100 is the only device developed specifically to look for the commonly available materials used in over 80% of bombs and homemade explosive devices today.
Event organizers, sports team owners, building owners, theme parks, government buildings, and so many other places are at risk daily because most metal detectors and screeners deployed are ineffective for detecting these common materials like nitrates, perchlorates, and chlorates. GreyScan can put a stop to the terror with our trace detection technology that can detect flares, fireworks, and inorganic HME materials commonly used in acts of terrorism from entering stadiums.
Prevent the Use of Flares and Explosives at Events
Like many other types of weapons, flares and unauthorized fireworks have no place at sports events or entertainment venues. In recent sports incidents, flares and fireworks were brought right past security because there was no screening being done for these inorganic explosives.
Although metal detectors and bag checks are common practices, utilizing an inorganic explosive trace detection (ETD) system like the ETD-100 for these large events is not. Some ETD systems in use today were created 30 years ago when supplies of military-grade and commercial explosives were more readily available and often used in terrorist attacks – so that is what they are programmed to identify. But over 80% of bombs are homemade explosives now, and these inorganic materials simply are not detected in the machines being used. Inorganic salts like you would find in flares, fireworks, and other improvised home-made explosives would not be detected – unless GreyScan’s ETD-100 was in use.
Setting The Standard in Inorganic Trace Detection
GreyScan developed the ETD-100 to be a mobile laboratory which could provide quick and accurate results via an easy-to-use interface. It is the only ETD system that detects inorganic salt-based explosives such as the nitrates, chlorates and perchlorates used in homemade explosives. Deploying the ETD-100 at points of entry to screen large crowds attending a sports event alongside other security measures makes for seamless deployment. Our technology can also be deployed after an incident has occurred to perform quick, on-site analysis of suspects instead of sending results off to a lab.
GreyScan’s technology has been tested on and off the field with glowing reviews. The ETD 100 was successfully tested by Germany’s “Frauenhofer Institute” and is currently in use by the Australian Federal Police and Singapore Ministry of Home Affairs. In 2020, The AFP switched their entire inorganic explosives detection capability from laboratory based CZE systems to portable, fast and easy to use ETD-100.
Because it is easy to perform the test and takes less than a minute to receive pass or fail results, it’s a simple solution for deployment by teams. It’s also a cost-effective solution for safety with each test costing less than $1.
Let’s Not Wait Until It’s Too Late
We are only a few heartbeats away from a catastrophic event if we continue to allow unrestricted access to stadiums, concert halls, and buildings full of thousands of unsuspecting people. GreyScan is leading the way toward a safer world one test at a time.
Where are you ready to increase security? We would love to hear from you.