Detection of embedded radiation sources using temporal variation of gamma spectral data.
Conventional full spectrum gamma spectroscopic analysis has the objective of quantitative identification of all the isotopes present in a measurement. For low energy resolution detectors, when photopeaks alone are not sufficient for complete isotopic identification, such analysis requires template spectra for all the isotopes present in the measurement. When many isotopes are present it is difficult to make the correct identification and this process often requires many trial solutions by highly skilled spectroscopists. This report investigates the potential of a new analysis method which uses spatial/temporal information from multiple low energy resolution measurements to test the hypothesis of the presence of a target spectrum of interest in these measurements without the need to identify all the other isotopes present. This method is referred to as targeted principal component analysis (TPCA). For radiation portal monitor applications, multiple measurements of gamma spectra are taken at equally spaced time increments as a vehicle passes through the portal and the TPCA method is directly applicable to this type of measurement. In this report we describe the method and investigate its application to the problem of detection of a radioactive localized source that is embedded in a distributed source in the presence of an ambient background. Examples using simulated spectral measurements indicate that this method works very well and has the potential for automated analysis for RPM applications. This method is also expected to work well for isotopic detection in the presence of spectrally and spatially varying backgrounds as a result of vehicle-induced background suppression. Further work is needed to include effects of shielding, to understand detection limits, setting of thresholds, and to estimate false positive probability.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), Albuquerque, NM, and Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-94AL85000
- OSTI ID:
- 1030395
- Report Number(s):
- SAND2011-6453; TRN: US201201%%303
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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