Applications of noble gas radiation detectors to counter-terrorism

Radiation detectors are essential tools in the detection, analysis and disposition of potential terrorist devices containing hazardous radioactive and/or fissionable materials. For applications where stand-off distance and source shielding are limiting factors, large detectors have advantages over small ones. The ability to distinguish between Special Nuclear Materials and false-positive signals from natural or man-made benign sources is also important. Ionization chambers containing compressed noble gases, notably xenon and helium-3, can be scaled up to very large sizes, improving the solid angle for acceptance of radiation from a distant source. Gamma spectrometers using Xe have a factor of three better energy resolution than NaI scintillators, allowing better discrimination between radioisotopes. Xenon detectors can be constructed so as to have extremely low leakage currents, enabling them to operate for long periods of time on batteries or solar cells. They are not sensitive to fluctuations in ambient temperature, and are therefore suitable for deployment in outdoor locations. Position-sensitive He-3 chambers have been built as large as 3000 cm(2), and with spatial resolution of less than 1 mm. Combined with coded apertures made of cadmium, they can be used to create images of thermal neutron sources. The natural background of spallation neutrons from cosmic rays generates a very low count rate, so this instrument could be quite effective at identifying a man-made source, such as a spontaneous fission. source (Pu) in contact with a moderator (high explosive).