Based upon these findings and the knowledge developed during the field scale investigations, the UWRC employees conceived and developed PEAC® (Palmtop Emergency Action for Chemicals) to provide the First Response community with a field-deployable software solution. The system centers around a comprehensive database of hazardous materials indexed to multiple databases, e.g., chemical/physical properties, toxicities, appropriate respirator recommendations, breakthrough times for chemical protective clothing, and symptoms of exposure. The application also included an integrated plume model to calculate exclusion zones for toxic vapor cloud releases.
The formation of AristaTek by the UWRC employees and transfer of the technology patent rights has led to enhancement of the PEAC product beyond just a resource for dealing with Hazmat response. The database is now comprised of 100K+ hazardous substance names and includes a comprehensive threat matrix to support events with multiple hazardous agents combined with a chemical reactivity analysis feature to assess consequences of multiple substances mixing. The integrated computational tools have expanded to include calculation of safe standoff distances from different types of hazardous events, e.g., explosions, unconfined vapor cloud explosions, radioactive isotope release, radioactive fallout exposure, and detonation of a nuclear device, with the results displayed as polygons on mapping tools.
Today, PEAC is the acknowledged "gold standard" for this type of solution and is used by hundreds of municipal fire departments, and many Department of Defense agencies. Recent DOD fieldings include all the NGB’s CSTs, the NGB TAGs in the 54 states and territories, and the Fire and Emergency Services for the USAF bases worldwide. The USAF fielding included development of on-line training courseware for DOD personnel with AristaTek staff serving as SMEs to the USAF course development contractor. A civilian fielding in 2008 via the DHS CEDAP (Commercial Equipment Direct Assistance Program) that provided hardware, software, NET (new equipment training) and extended technical support contracts for 89 jurisdictions spread across the USA.