Dolan Falconer’s vision for homeland security seems relatively simple at first glance.

“My goal is to let you carry your bottle of water back on the airplane,” Falconer said.

But Falconer, president and chief executive officer of Atlanta-based ScanTech Holdings, is looking far beyond that bottle of Aquafina or Dasani.

In fact, what he is trying to do with his research and development firm is revolutionize not only how baggage is screened at airports, but how the nearly 11 million cargo containers that come through 361 commercial U.S. ports every year are checked for possible hazardous materials.

The technology he and his company are developing solely through private investors and based on initial research by Russians (the company still employs about a dozen technicians in Moscow) is capable of determining not only the shapes of items inside a purse, suitcase or cargo container, but also what those items are made of. And, in the case of liquids and gels, Falconer said screeners will be able to tell whether the substance is face cream or plastic explosives.

“We can tell the difference between Scotch and ice tea and water and nitroglycerine,” said James “Micky” Blackwell, ScanTech’s chairman of the board and retired Lockheed-Martin president.

Using sophisticated high-speed X-ray machines that check containers from two angles, and a specially written computer program that determines the density and effective atomic weight of items, Falconer said screeners at airports and other ports of entry will be able to tell within seconds whether materials are hazardous or benign.

That means water bottles, cosmetics and other toiletries could eventually escape the Transportation Security Administration’s dreaded 3-1-1 edict (no more than 3 ounces per bottle in a 1-quart clear plastic bag and only one bag per passenger) in carry-on luggage.

“There are not many others out there who are doing the two-dimensional scanner [Falconer] is doing,” said Page Siplon, executive director of the Georgia Maritime Logistics Innovation Center in Savannah, who is familiar with ScanTech’s research.

Christopher White, a spokesman for the TSA, said ScanTech was part of a large test of new technologies the agency did last fall.

“We are still evaluating the results of the project,” White said. “There is no commitment to purchase any [ScanTech] units.”

But Falconer and ScanTech have caught the eye of others in the homeland security industry.

Last month, the firm won the $50,000 top prize for its cargo container scanner in the first “Defend American Challenge,” besting more than 50 other high-tech companies in a contest put on by the Chesapeake Innovation Center in Annapolis, Md.

That exposure, Falconer said, may help open government doors in the U.S.

“It’s difficult as a small company to get the attention of the government, no matter how good the technology,” Falconer said.

Despite its rather low profile in this country, Falconer said ScanTech is negotiating more than $200 million in contracts for its devices, with much of the interest coming from countries susceptible to terrorist attacks.

The primary application for this technology, which has been developed with the assistance of Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center, is port security, which Falconer describes as “the biggest hole in the U.S. security net.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials say 100 percent of suspect cargo containers are inspected.

But that’s less than 10 percent of the millions of containers entering the country, according to ScanTech’s Blackwell.

Democrats in Congress introduced legislation last month that calls for screening of 100 percent of all cargo containers entering the U.S. within three to five years, a goal that is probably unreachable, said Allen Thompson, vice president of global supply chain policy for the Retail Industry Leaders Association, a consortium of retailers, manufacturers and service suppliers.

“You just can’t physically check every body, every vessel and every container that comes into the country,” said Thompson, a former staffer on the House Homeland Security Committee.

Technology is not the sole answer, but is one link in the security chain that includes cooperation with other countries and private industry, he added.

The big concern of industry officials who rely on overseas goods coming through U.S. ports is that too much security – such as a 100 percent inspection program – could slow the flow of commerce, said Maritime Logistics Innovation Center’s Siplon.

“What we’re hearing the industry saying is that we’ve got to move boxes and cargo and we’re fearful that security will cost us a lot of money. We’re trying to find technology that will not only improve security, but also improve efficiency,” Siplon said.

Falconer, 50, a Georgia Tech graduate and a nuclear engineer by trade, believes his fixed site inspection system, known as Inspector, is at least part of the answer to the speed and efficiency at ports. Once a container is loaded onto a truck, it can be driven into the Inspector and scanned in 45 seconds.

The fourth-generation prototype of the Inspector is being assembled at warehouses in Buford and Gainesville, and Falconer is hoping to have it ready for a full-scale test, possibly at the port of Savannah, no later than April.

Meanwhile, ScanTech’s baggage-screening device, known as Sentinel, is scheduled for a full-scale test this spring at the Panama City, Fla., airport.

“There’s an urgent need” for better security measures at airports but especially at ports, Falconer said. “Time is of the essence.”

ON THE WEB: For more information about this topic: www.scantechholdings.com;

maritime.georgia innovation.org/

BOOSTING AMERICA’S SAFETY

ScanTech’s “Inspector,” a dual-energy X-ray with the ability to detect substances through steel up to 14 inches thick, is poised to heighten America’s sea port safety.

1. Cargo ships come to port loaded with container crates.

2. The crate and its contents are scanned, detail below.

3. The container is carried from the shipping yard to its destination.

Single-energy X-ray

Offensive substance Offensive substance goes undetected

The typical one X-ray system only detects shape. All of the barrels look the same and are more likely to pass inspection.

Dual-energy X-ray

Offensive substance is detected goes undetected

The “Inspector” system utilizes dual-energy X-rays to measure material properties (effective atomic number and density) of everything in the container allowing for positive threat identification.

Source: ScanTech Holdings, LLC / Identification Beam Systems, LLC Illustration of ScanTech’s dual-energy X-ray versus single-energy X-ray.

CHARLES W. JONES / Staff