U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Government Website

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Safely connect using HTTPS

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock () or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Breadcrumb

  1. Science and Technology
  2. Expertise
  3. National Laboratories
  4. Transportation Security Laboratory

Transportation Security Laboratory

Location: Atlantic City, NJ

Transportation Security Laboratory The Transportation Security Laboratory (TSL) is a Department of Homeland Security Federal Laboratory located at the William J. Hughes Technical Center, Atlantic City International Airport, New Jersey, and is a part of the Science and Technology Directorate. The core mission is to enhance homeland security by performing research, development and validation of solutions to detect and mitigate the threat of improvised explosive devices.

TSL helps protect our nation’s civilian air transportation systems. By virtue of its accomplished experts, cutting-edge facilities and partnerships, TSL offers the homeland security community and transportation security partners the ability to advance detection technology from conception to deployment through applied research, test and evaluation, assessment, certification and qualification testing.

Special Expertise

TSL’s staff of more than 100 employees includes physicists, chemists, engineers and mathematicians who are leaders in explosives detection and mitigation. These talented technical experts have more than 1,000 years of experience collectively. In 2014, TSL processes were re-accredited for A2LA 17025 and ISO 9001 certifications, thereby continuing to meet the most rigorous and internationally recognized standards.

Unique Facilities and Laboratory Capabilities

TSL’s 12-acre secure campus includes specialized explosive storage and handling areas and a multi-laboratory infrastructure designed for applied research, test and evaluation. Its blast-resistant laboratories are equipped to evaluate explosives detection equipment and imaging equipment against an extensive library of domestic, foreign and homemade explosives.

Two satellite facilities at the Tyndall Reactive Materials Group (TRMG) located in Panama City, FL and the Joint FBI-TSA-S&T Terrorist Explosive Device Analytical Center (TEDAC) Improvised Explosives Detection and Synthesis (TIEDS) Center in Huntsville, AL provide TSL with the capability and flexibility to quickly respond to emerging threats.

Public–Private Partnerships That Expedite Transportation Security Solutions

TSL has more than 30 cooperative research and development agreements with industry and academia. Partners work with TSL to develop capabilities and reduce the time needed to deliver the capabilities to the front line. TSL’s Technology Optimization Partnerships (TOPs) process is a publicprivate enterprise designed to quickly mature and deploy detection technologies. TOPs help industry understand the detection problems and offer the expertise to assist with technical solutions.

Efficient Certification and Qualification Test Services to Help Industry Usher In Solutions

TSL’s Independent Test and Evaluation group provides certification and qualification tests and laboratory assessments that provide DHS components, including the Transportation Security Administration, with critical information about equipment and its ability to detect explosives. TSL also provides a range of actual explosives to system manufacturers to develop software necessary to locate them within various concealment scenarios.

Our Impact

Fact Sheet

For more information, contact TSLInfo@st.dhs.gov

Last Updated: 01/29/2024
Was this page helpful?
This page was not helpful because the content