Aerial Measuring System (AMS)/Israel Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC) Joint Comparison Study Report
- National Security Technologies, LLC. (NSTec), Mercury, NV (United States)
- Israel Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC), Yavne (Israel)
Under the 13th Bilateral Meeting to Combat Nuclear Terrorism conducted on January 8–9, 2013, the committee approved the development of a cost-effective proposal to conduct a Comparison Study of the Aerial Measuring System (AMS) of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and Israel Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC). The study was to be held at the Remote Sensing Laboratory (RSL), Nellis Air Force Base, Las Vegas, Nevada, with measurements at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). The goal of the AMS and the IAEC joint survey was to compare the responses of the two agencies’ aerial radiation detection systems to varied radioactive surface contamination levels and isotopic composition experienced at the NNSS, and the differing data processing techniques utilized by the respective teams. Considering that for the comparison both teams were using custom designed and built systems, the main focus of the short campaign was to investigate the impact of the detector size and data analysis techniques used by both teams. The AMS system, SPectral Advanced Radiological Computer System, Model A (SPARCS-A), designed and built by RSL, incorporates four different size sodium iodide (NaI) crystals: 1" × 1", 2" × 4" × 4", 2" × 4" ×16", and an “up-looking” 2" × 4" × 4". The Israel AMS System, Air RAM 2000, was designed by the IAEC Nuclear Research Center – Negev (NRCN) and built commercially by ROTEM Industries (Israel) and incorporates two 2" diameter × 2" long NaI crystals. The operational comparison was conducted at RSL-Nellis in Las Vegas, Nevada, during week of June 24–27, 2013. The Israeli system, Air RAM 2000, was shipped to RSL-Nellis and mounted together with the DOE SPARCS on a DOE Bell-412 helicopter for a series of aerial comparison measurements at local test ranges, including the Desert Rock Airport and Area 3 at the NNSS. A 4-person Israeli team from the IAEC NRCN supported the activity together with 11 members of the RSL team, which consisted of pilots, mechanics, scientists, a data analyst, equipment operators, and operation specialists. All planned flight activities followed by scientific discussions on the collected data were completed. For IAEC, the joint survey provided an opportunity to characterize their system’s response to extended sources of various fission products at the NNSS. As both systems play an important role in their respective countries’ (United States and Israel) national framework of radiological emergency response and are subject to multiple mutual cooperation agreements, it was important for each country to obtain more thorough knowledge of how they would employ these important assets and define the roles that they would each play in an actual response.
- Research Organization:
- National Security Technologies, LLC (NSTec), Mercury, NV (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Office of Emergency Operations
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC52-06NA25946
- OSTI ID:
- 1134148
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/NV/25946-1941; TRN: US1600001
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
SODIUM IODIDES
NEVADA
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
US DOE
NEVADA TEST SITE
ISRAEL ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION
DATA ANALYSIS
SOLID SCINTILLATION DETECTORS
FISSION PRODUCTS
ISOTOPE RATIO
RADIATION DETECTION
SURFACE CONTAMINATION
REMOTE SENSING
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
AERIAL MONITORING
SIZE
Aerial Measuring System
AMS
Israel Atomic Energy Commission
IAEC
Joint Comparison Study Report