Radiation Detectors as surveillance Monitors*

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) proposes to use personnel dosimetry radiation detectors as surveillance monitors for safeguards purposes. It plans to place these YES/NO monitors at barrier penetration points declared closed under IAEA safeguards to detect the passage of plutonium— bearing nuclear material, usually spent fuel. For this application, we surveyed commercially available dosimeters as well as other radiation detectors that appeared suitable and likely to be marketed in the near future. We found no primary advantage in a particular detector type because in this application backgrounds vary during long counting intervals. Secondary considerations specify that the monitor be inexpensive and easy to tamperproof, interrogate, and maintain. On this basis we selected radiophotoluminescent, thermoluminescent, and electronic dosimeters as possible routine monitors; the latter two may prove useful for database acquisition.