WALTHAM, Mass., Feb. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Thermo Electron Corporation (NYSE: TMO) instruments are currently in use at
the Salt Lake 2002 Winter Olympic Games to identify athletes who may have
enhanced their performance with anabolic steroids and other banned substances,
and to search for explosive materials.
"We are very proud that our instruments are playing key roles at the 2002
Winter Olympics -- keeping the event safe and preserving the integrity of the
games," said Richard F. Syron, chairman and chief executive officer of Thermo
Electron. "This is the fourth time, starting with the Atlanta Summer Olympics
in 1996, that our ultra-sensitive mass spectrometry technology has been
involved in drug testing of Olympic athletes. Our EGIS(R) trace explosive
detection system, which is used in trouble-spots around the world, is now
being put to work for the safety and security of athletes and fans of the
Winter Games."
The UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory is administering the drug tests for
the Salt Lake Olympic Committee and has leased four of Thermo Electron's
Thermo Finnigan brand mass spectrometers, including two high-resolution
systems to test for anabolic steroids at ultra-trace levels, and two isotope
ratio mass spectrometers to determine the presence of synthetic testosterone.
The latter can detect differences in isotope ratios of Carbon 13 and Carbon 12
to differentiate synthetic testosterone from the naturally occurring hormone.
In addition, Thermo Electron engineers are in Salt Lake City to provide
support and service throughout the 17-day event, which began Friday.
As part of the unprecedented levels of security for this year's Olympic
Games, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is using EGIS, Thermo
Electron's Thermo Detection brand trace explosive detection instrument, to
search for possible explosives. EGIS, which won a Presidential Design Award in
1992, can detect and identify plastic, commercial, and military explosives in
less than 16 seconds. EGIS has become the trace-detection standard in Europe
for airport screening of bags and electronic items. It has been deployed to
screen British Rail freight and passengers traveling through the Channel
Tunnel, in Israel to ensure maximum security at border crossings, and in
mailrooms to screen suspicious packages. In addition, law enforcement
agencies, such as the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
(ATF), use EGIS on site for post-blast investigation to determine the type and
origin of explosives.
Thermo Electron Corporation is a global leader in providing technology-
based instruments, components, and systems that offer total solutions for
markets ranging from life sciences to telecommunications to food, drug, and
beverage production. The company's powerful technologies help researchers sift
through data to make discoveries that will fight disease or prolong life. They
allow manufacturers to fabricate critical components required to increase the
speed and quality of communications. And they automatically monitor and
control online production to ensure that quality standards are met safely and
efficiently. Thermo Electron, based in Waltham, Massachusetts, reported $2.3
billion in revenues in 2000 and employs approximately 12,000 people worldwide.
For more information on Thermo Electron, visit http://www.thermo.com.
The following constitutes a "Safe Harbor" statement under the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This press release contains forward-
looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Important
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
indicated by such forward-looking statements are set forth under the heading
"Risk Factors" in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year
ended December 30, 2000. These include risks and uncertainties relating to:
integration of the company's instrument businesses, the company's guarantee of
obligations of a subsidiary that was spun off, the effect of exchange rate
fluctuations on international operations, potential impairment of goodwill,
the need to develop new products and adapt to significant technological
change, dependence on customers that operate in cyclical industries, the
effect of changes in governmental regulations, and dependence on customers'
capital spending policies and government funding policies. We undertake no
obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a
result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
SOURCE Thermo Electron Corporation
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