Smiths Detection has received several contracts from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to expand the PROTECT security system used for early warning of potential chemical threats and substances. The value of the awards was not disclosed. The PROTECT (Program for Response Options and Technology Enhancements for Chemical/Biological Terrorism) has been in operation for over five years in Washington, D.C., New York and Boston. The upgrades under the new awards include added levels of redundancy for communications and interoperability, upgraded chemical detector heads, software enhancements and a “slight” expansion in coverage, Brook Miller, vice president of Government Affairs at Smiths Detection tells TR2. Boston and New York are also considering upgrades to their respective PROTECT systems, he says. PROTECT currently features chemical detection and video surveillance capabilities, a security management platform, firemen jacks for outside responders to view the threat before entering a facility. Miller says that PROTECT is close to being able to integrate radiation detectors.