EZEM: E-Z-EM’S RSDL product receives department of homeland security safety act certification

E-Z-EM, Inc. (NASDAQ: EZEM) today announced that RSDLTM reactive skin decontamination lotion has received designation and certification as a Qualified Anti-Terrorism Technology by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and was granted certification under the Support Anti-Terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies (SAFETY) Act of 2002. The purpose of the SAFETY Act is to encourage the development and deployment of anti-terrorism technologies that will substantially enhance the protection of the nation. The designation and certification of RSDL under the SAFETY Act will extend certain liability protections to the Company and its customers (whether public or private) in the event RSDL is used in response to a terrorist incident. RSDL is the first and only decontamination product to receive this certification.
According to a published statement by the DHS, “the SAFETY Act creates certain liability limitations for ‘claims arising out of, relating to, or resulting from an act of terrorism’ where qualified anti-terrorism technologies have been deployed. It also confers other benefits. Although there are many technologies that are important to protecting our homeland, the SAFETY Act ‘Designation’ and ‘Certification’ are designed to support effective technologies aimed at preventing, detecting, identifying, or deterring acts of terrorism, or limiting the harm that such acts might otherwise cause, and which also meet other prescribed criteria.”

RSDL is a patented, broad spectrum skin decontamination product intended to remove or neutralize chemical warfare (CW) agents or T2 toxin from the skin. Originally developed for the Canadian Ministry of Defense, RSDL has since been adopted by several military services around the world, and is currently undergoing final configuration testing by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) for deployment with U.S. troops. The U.S Department of Defense authorized the sale of RSDL to first responder organizations in September of 2004. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued 510(k) clearance for RSDL in March of 2003.

Commenting on the announcement, Anthony A. Lombardo, President and CEO of E-Z-EM, said, “We are very pleased to have received designation and certification for RSDL under the SAFETY Act. The liability protections afforded under the law remove one potential barrier to sales of the product to first responder organizations. Though other potential liability issues remain in this market, we believe this is a very positive development for the product at a time when first responder organizations are assessing the proper role for RSDL in their disaster response plans.”