Exploring Novel Physical Security Enhancements For Industrial Irradiators Through Government-Industry Partnerships

Government and industry are committed to securing radiological material against theft or sabotage—even in the harsh environments and operational conditions of industrial irradiators. The U.S. Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration’s Office of Radiological Security (ORS) supports a unique program that facilitates collaborative partnerships with radiological device manufacturers, with the goal of enhancing device security. This program, the In-Device Delay (IDD) program, works with U.S. and international manufacturers to develop and integrate additional delay and detection capabilities into the company’s commercial products through security-by-design (SbD) and retrofitted means. This overview will highlight one such government-industry partnership that currently exists between ORS and Nordion (Canada) Inc. Throughout their long-standing relationship, the two organizations have sought to identify opportunities to further enhance the security of various radiological devices and then to develop and implement new security technologies. ORS supports this partnership by providing security expertise—from concept design to testing and implementation. Nordion brings a deep understanding of their technologies and their customers’ operational needs to this partnership. Together, these two organizations have the tools and resources needed to develop practical and effective physical security solutions for radiological devices. Industrial irradiators are highly secure to ensure their radiological material are not subject to theft or sabotage. However, this potential threat establishes the continued need for additional security solutions for these devices. ORS and Nordion are collaborating on a project to explore this issue. This effort will focus on developing security technologies to be applied directly at the irradiator pool and radiological source rack. Due to the complexities of securing radiological material within the irradiator environment, traditional security technologies are not always suitable, and novel concepts are required. This overview will feature industrial irradiator delay and detection concepts developed by Sandia National Laboratories through the ORS-Nordion partnership and will describe the project’s vulnerability testing approach. Plans for future pilot testing will also be discussed. Ultimately, this partnership and project will bring valuable new tools to the effort to further secure radiological materials world-wide.