Radiation Protection in the Application of Active Detection Technologies-20F47449

The U.S. government is actively pursuing efforts to develop, acquire and support the deployment of enhanced detection systems for special nuclear material (SNM). While the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is the lead agency in this area, both the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) in the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) support programs to develop and field an active detection technology (ADT) system. This Commentary focuses on the efforts of DTRA to deploy a detection system that addresses their mission. It is intended as guidance to inform the development process with respect to radiation protection issues. The comments and recommendations in this Commentary are broadly applicable to all ADTs used to detect SNM. Subsequent reports are planned that will cover more technical details regarding implementation of the guidelines in this Commentary. This Commentary reviews the new remote detection technologies that are being developed, focusing on the requirements for radiation protection and provides guidelines to ensure that doses are within recommended limits for operating personnel and bystanders in the inspected areas.