Markland Technologies Announces Expanded Markets and Applications for Its Chemical Detectors, Includ

Added: (Wed Feb 18 2004)

Pressbox (Press Release) - News Release
For Immediate Release:
February 18, 2004

Markland Technologies Announces Expanded Markets and Applications for Its Chemical Detectors, Including Use in Monitoring for Contaminated Water Supplies
RIDGEFIELD, Conn., Feb 18, 2004 - Markland Technologies, Inc. (MRKL) (http://www.marklandtech.com), an integrated homeland security company, announced today a series of new market applications for its government approved ACADA chemical detection unit. It is expected that these additional market applications will help to expand the use of the ACADA system to protect against some of the largest bio-terrorism threats facing the world today.
The ACADA unit is a flexible chemical detection device, which employs Ion Mobility Spectroscopy (IMS). It is presently designed and utilized to detect all classic nerve and blister agents as well as other chemical warfare agent (CWA) vapors. It can be modified in design to detect other hazardous chemical agents in either gas or liquid state via vapor conversion. For example, the ACADA unit can easily monitor large water reservoir supplies, simply by converting a sample of the water to vapor state and analyzing the vapor. Markland's ACADA unit has demonstrated remarkable sensitivity in parts per billion resolution, as well as a low false alarm rate, in numerous military and industrial applications.
Contaminated water is a significant threat, and harmful chemical agents can cause catastrophic effects to a person's health, in addition to a detrimental effect on the economy of a region. Markland plans on marketing its ACADA system, capable of detecting tiny particles of harmful vapors, to provide a further safeguard to our nation's water supply. According to the Washington Times, Al Qaida threatened to attack the United States water supplies last year. The Department of Homeland Security has recently announced $118 million in their budget to enhance current environmental monitoring activities. Markland believes its product is amongst a very small group of technologies capable of tackling this serious threat.
Another area of significant concern is underground transportation systems. In 1995, Aum Shinrikyo, a Japanese religious cult group became infamous when some of its members released deadly sarin nerve gas into the Tokyo subway system, killing 12 people and sending more than 5,000 others to hospitals. The attack came at the peak of the morning rush hour in one of the busiest commuter systems in the world. The ACADA unit is specifically designed to detect sarin nerve gas and other agents and is presently being modified for the purpose of creating wireless networked chemical detection functionality for subway systems and other mass transit applications.
The US government budget for products to assist first responders will be $3.6 billion next year. Applications for the ACADA unit to be utilized by and to protect first responders would be portable units, as well as fixed installations in municipal facilities such as hospitals, fire stations and police stations. As recently demonstrated in Iraq, terrorist attacks on police, fire, medical and other emergency personnel can be enormously debilitating on both the health and morale of first responders.
About Markland Technologies
Markland Technologies, Inc is committed to helping secure America by providing innovative emerging technologies and expert services to meet the country's needs to protect our people, our borders and our infrastructure assets.
The Company is a Board member of the Homeland Security Industries Association (http://www.hsianet.org).
"Forward-Looking Statements"
Investors are cautioned that certain statements contained in this document as well as some statements in periodic press releases and some oral statements of Markland Technologies officials during presentations about Markland Technologies, are ``forward-looking'' statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the ``Act''). Forward-looking statements include statements which are predictive in nature, which depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, which include words such as ``expects', ''anticipates``, ''intends``, ''plans``, ''believes``, ''estimates``, or similar expressions. In addition, any statements concerning future financial performance (including future revenues, earnings or growth rates), ongoing business strategies or prospects, and possible future actions, which may be provided by management, are also forward-looking statements as defined by the Act. Some of the factors that could significantly impact the forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to: insufficient cash flow to continue to fund the development and marketing of the Company's products and technology; a rejection of the Company's products and technologies by the marketplace, and; disputes as to the Company's intellectual property rights. Forward-looking statements are based upon current expectations and projections about future events and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions about Markland Technologies, its products, economic and market factors and the industries in which Markland Technologies does business, among other things. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and Markland Technologies has no specific intention to update these statements. More detailed information about those factors is contained in Markland Technologies filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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SOURCE: Markland Technologies, Inc.
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Markland Technologies
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ECON Investor Relations, Inc.
Dawn Van Zant, 1-866-730-1151
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Trevor Ruehs
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