New Detectors Help Prevent Nuclear Terror

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According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the greatest danger to nuclear security comes from terrorists acquiring sufficient quantities of plutonium or highly enriched uranium (HEU) to construct a crude nuclear explosive device. The IAEA also notes that most cases of illicit nuclear trafficking have involved gram-level quantities, which can be challenging to detect with most inspection methods.

According to a recent study in the Journal of Applied Physics, coupling commercially available spectral X-ray detectors with a specialized algorithm can improve the detection of uranium and plutonium in small, layered objects such as baggage. This approach enhances the detection powers of X-ray imaging and may provide a new tool to impede nuclear trafficking.

iHLS – Israel Homeland Security

The study was conducted by a joint research team from the University of Texas at Austin (UT) and the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).

According to HLS News Wire the new system, expands upon techniques originally developed for medical applications such as discerning between bone and iodine contrast agent in an X-ray image.