PALO ALTO, Calif. - August 13, 2003 - BetweenApril and June, 2003, Varian Medical Systems received orders from several manufacturers for fifteen Linatron® industrial linear accelerators, to be incorporated into cargo screening systems bound for Saudi Arabia, Japan, and the United States. "High energy X-ray linear accelerators have proven to be the most effective tools available for rapid, high-resolution cargo screening," said Lester Boeh, vice president for Varian's Security & Inspection Products business. "This is an established technology for security inspection, as well as for manifest verification and interdiction. Security issues are of paramount importance. But countries are acquiring cargo screening systems and setting them up at ports of entry for other reasons, as well. Customs services around the world are realizing that they can collect lost revenue through better manifest verification. Many of the goods that enter a country are either incorrectly, or never declared on cargo manifests, so customs doesn’t collect the applicable duties and tariffs. These systems are an excellent way of generating revenue and enhancing security at the same time." Varian's Security & Inspection Products business has delivered nearly 60 high-energy x-ray accelerators for cargo inspection to more than 35 locations worldwide. Although the use of high-energy X-ray screening technology for cargo inspection is still relatively new to the U.S., many countries around the world have adopted this approach, primarily for manifest verification and revenue enhancement. "High-energy accelerators generate enough energy to penetrate up to 17 inches of solid steel and produce high-quality images that show even small objects in fine detail," said Boeh. “None of the competing technologies for cargo screening offer that level of penetration or contrast sensitivity. Linatron-based systems have proven to be ten times more contrast sensitive than other systems. And the Linatron accelerator technology also eliminates the potential hazards, costs, and other issues associated with using and disposing of radioactive sources." # # #