Council Bill Would Put Limits On Bomb-Detection Technology
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Private companies and individuals that use bomb-seeking machines, including air monitors that detect biological, radiological, and chemical agents, would be required to get a permit from the police commissioner under a City Council bill being considered today.
Commissioner Raymond Kelly asked Council Member Peter Vallone Jr. to draft the bill because he was concerned that the spread of the unregulated machines could lead to false alarms and public panic.
“There is presently no mechanism for coordinating the deployment of these detectors, and no means of ensuring that these instruments are reliable and effective,” an NYPD spokesman, Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne, said in an e-mailed statement. “Perhaps most important, there is no requirement that alerts be reported immediately.”
The proposal was immediately criticized by Manhattan’s president, Scott Stringer, who worried that the permit system would give the government too much power in overseeing air testing — a concern for Lower Manhattan residents living near ground zero.
“Their argument is that excessive false alarms cause unwarranted anxiety and that’s not the problem. The problem is that post-September 11, the EPA lied to people,” he said, referring to the Environmental Protection Agency.
“It has become imperative that we have the ability for environmental advocates to have the ability to do environmental testing,” he said.
An industrial hygiene company, the Hillmann Environmental Group, also criticized the law. In its testimony for today’s hearing that was obtained by The New York Sun, the company suggests the bill is too broad and could make it difficult for private companies that do air monitoring at construction sites to do their work.
Mr. Brown said the permits would not apply to common household alarms such as carbon monoxide detectors. The bill would also allow the police department to exclude some types of machines at its discretion.
Mr. Vallone said the hearing today would provide more information for the City Council to decide if the bill needs narrowing.
