EVALUATING THE SENSITIVITY OF RADIONUCLIDE DETECTORS FOR CONDUCTING A MARITIME ON-BOARD SEARCH USING MONTE CARLO SIMULATION IMPLEMENTED IN AVERT
The sensitivity of two specific types of radionuclide detectors for conducting an on-board search in the maritime environment was evaluated using Monte Carlo simulation implemented in AVERT{reg_sign}. AVERT{reg_sign}, short for the Automated Vulnerability Evaluation for Risk of Terrorism, is personal computer based vulnerability assessment software developed by the ARES Corporation. The sensitivity of two specific types of radionuclide detectors for conducting an on-board search in the maritime environment was evaluated using Monte Carlo simulation. The detectors, a RadPack and also a Personal Radiation Detector (PRD), were chosen from the class of Human Portable Radiation Detection Systems (HPRDS). Human Portable Radiation Detection Systems (HPRDS) serve multiple purposes. In the maritime environment, there is a need to detect, localize, characterize, and identify radiological/nuclear (RN) material or weapons. The RadPack is a commercially available broad-area search device used for gamma and also for neutron detection. The PRD is chiefly used as a personal radiation protection device. It is also used to detect contraband radionuclides and to localize radionuclide sources. Neither device has the capacity to characterize or identify radionuclides. The principal aim of this study was to investigate the sensitivity of both the RadPack and the PRD while being used under controlled conditions in a simulated maritime environment for detecting hidden RN contraband. The detection distance varies by the source strength and the shielding present. The characterization parameters of the source are not indicated in this report so the results summarized are relative. The Monte Carlo simulation results indicate the probability of detection of the RN source at certain distances from the detector which is a function of transverse speed and instrument sensitivity for the specified RN source.
- Research Organization:
- Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC09-08SR22470
- OSTI ID:
- 950477
- Report Number(s):
- SRNL-L2300-2009-00018; TRN: US0902003
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Risk Analysis of Complex Systems for National Security Applications
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
CAPACITY
DETECTION
NATIONAL SECURITY
NEUTRON DETECTION
PERSONAL COMPUTERS
PROBABILITY
RADIATION DETECTION
RADIATION DETECTORS
RADIATION PROTECTION
RADIOISOTOPES
RISK ASSESSMENT
SENSITIVITY
SHIELDING
SIMULATION
VELOCITY
VULNERABILITY
WEAPONS