Mobile Radiation Portal Monitor

The PNNL design team developed a first-of-a-kind, self-contained, truck-mounted radiation portal monitor (RPM) system designed to detect nuclear materials in cargo containers — the mobile RPM. The mobile RPM is appropriate for seaport, rail, airport, and vehicle cargo applications. The system is designed to examine cargo in trucks and shipping containers and can operate in stationary mode, with cargo passing between a pair of mobile RPMs, or in mobile mode, driving past stationary objects. The primary focus of the mobile RPM is to detect and interdict illicit radiological materials at ports of entry.

A mobile RPM system consists of a truck equipped with two detection panels mounted on the truck chassis. The detection panels contain both gamma and neutron sensors that can detect plutonium, highly enriched uranium, and radioisotopes that may be used in a radiation dispersal device. The system can inspect areas ranging from close to the ground to several feet in the air, with no gap in detector coverage in between. Reflective presence sensors are used to trigger RPM measurements. Speed and distance detectors are part of the system's ancillary equipment.

The team designed, fabricated, tested and demonstrated two mobile RPM units. The successful implementation of this program has led to the specification and procurement of mass-produced systems for use at many U.S. seaports.

Project Contact: S. Bailey