Year
1993
Abstract
New technologies for monitoring the continued presence of nuclear materials are being evaluated in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to reduce the effort, cost, and employee exposures associated with conducting nuclear material inventories. These technologies also show promise for the international safeguarding of process systems and nuclear materials in storage, including spent fuels. The identified systems are based on innovative technologies that were not developed for safeguards applications. These advanced technologies include passive and active sensor systems based on optical materials, inexpensive solid-state radiation detectors, dimensional surface characterization, and digital color imagery. The passive sensor systems use specialized scintillator materials coupled to optical-fiber technologies that not only are capable of measuring radioactive emissions but also are capable of measuring or monitoring pressure, weight, temperature, and source location. Small, durable solid-state gamma-ray detection devices, whose components are estimated to cost less than $25 per unit, can be implemented in a variety of configurations and can be adapted to enhance existing monitoring systems. Variations in detector design have produced significantly different system capabilities. Dimensional surface characterization and digital color imaging are applications of developed technologies that are capable of motion detection, item surveillance, and unique identification of items.