Title :
Challenges for interdiction of nuclear threats at borders
Author :
Kouzes, Richard T.
Author_Institution :
Pacific Northwest Nat. Lab., Richland, WA, USA
Abstract :
Countries around the world are deploying radiation detection instrumentation to interdict the illegal shipment of radioactive material crossing international borders at land, rail, air, and sea ports-of-entry. These efforts include deployments in the U.S. by the Department of Homeland Security and in a number of European and Asian countries by governments and international agencies, such as the International Atomic Energy Agency. Items of concern to be interdicted include radiation dispersal devices, special nuclear material, and nuclear warheads. Radiation portal monitors are used as the main screening tool for vehicles and cargo at borders, supplemented by handheld detectors, personal radiation detectors, and x-ray imaging systems. This paper focuses on the challenges of background radiation, radionuclide identification, and interference sources to interdiction.
Keywords :
nuclear materials safeguards; radiation detection; Asian countries; Department of Homeland Security; European countries; International Atomic Energy Agency; US; background radiation; illegal radioactive material shipment; interference source; international border; nuclear material; nuclear threat interdiction; nuclear warhead; radiation detection instrumentation; radiation portal monitor; radionuclide identification; Atomic measurements; Government; Instruments; Nuclear weapons; Portals; Radiation detectors; Radioactive materials; Rails; Terrorism; Vehicles; border security; nuclear threats; radiation detection;
Conference_Titel :
Advancements in Nuclear Instrumentation Measurement Methods and their Applications (ANIMMA), 2009 First International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Marseille
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-5207-1
Electronic_ISBN :
978-1-4244-5208-8
DOI :
10.1109/ANIMMA.2009.5503731