The U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command's (TACOM) Tank-Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) is being authorized $3.5 million by Congress to develop a hand-held water quality sensing device that will aid in the detection of chemical and biological contaminants in drinking water.
Under the direction of Dr. Richard McClelland, TARDEC will partner with the U.S. Army Soldier Biological and Chemical Command, Wayne State University, and local water authorities from Macomb, Oakland, St. Clair and Wayne Counties on this project.
They will be developing a commercial off-the-shelf water quality monitor that will be available and affordable not only for the military, but also for public health officials throughout the country.
Part of TARDEC's overall mission is providing soldiers with the tools to produce drinking water that meets the military's water quality standards. The need for timely detection of contaminants in drinking water that can cause adverse health effects was cited as the basis for this project.
It is also expected that the technology developed by this project will be used as a platform for developing monitoring systems for hospital settings, such as maintaining sterile environments in surgical suites.
Source: PR Newswire