Nuclear terrorism could be intercepted by neutron-gamma detector

The KTH Royal Institute of Technology has unveiled a scanning technology aimed at detecting small amounts of nuclear materials, with the hope of preventing acts of nuclear terrorism.

Researchers say that the technology can be used in airports and seaports for routine inspection of passengers and goods.

A form of tomography, the system enables quick 3D imaging of the source of neutron and gamma ray emissions from weapons-grade plutonium and other special nuclear materials.

The Neutron-Gamma Emission Tomography (NGET) system goes beyond the capabilities of existing radiation portal monitors, by measuring the time and energy correlations between particles emitted in nuclear fission, and using machine learning algorithms to visualise where they’re coming from. The system looks for coincidences of neutron and gamma ray emissions—which when mapped together in real-time allow pinpointing their origin.

Bo Cederwall, a professor of physics at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, said: “The technology has a very high sensitivity and can within a few seconds detect gram-amounts of plutonium depending on the application and the plutonium isotope composition. It takes a little longer to get a really good picture so you can see exactly where the plutonium is. However, this can be done completely automatically.”

The research is published and featured in the journal Science Advances.

[Image show researchers, from left, Jana Petrovic, Bo Cederwall and Alf Göök as they test the new imaging technology on a mock-up of radioactive waste drum scanner. (Photo: Biswarup Das)]