In order to prevent terror attacks caused by the use of explosives, specific preventative security concepts have been established. As a rule, these concepts are based on the use of specific technology, human resources or a combination of both.
However, to ensure a constant reliability, surveys and inspections have to be carried out from time to time. X-ray systems need be tested with respect to their detection capability and operators need to be trained regarding their capability to identify dangerous objects on the screen.
For those applications, the responsible authorities can profit tremendously by using simulants instead of real explosives because they show identical characteristics, are easy to handle and don’t require any specific precautions.