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BROOKHAVEN RESEARCHERS DEVELOP COUNTERTERROR TECHNOLOGIES
18 May 2007 - DOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory
| Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory are developing counterterrorism technologies to help protect the United States from would-be terrorists wielding nuclear weapons, dirty bombs, toxic chemicals, or explosives. |
“These sensor technologies give us the capability to discern and identify minute quantities of radioactive materials, and also detect chemical and biological agents and explosives,” said Ralph James, Brookhaven’s Associate Director for Energy, Environment, and National Security. “When deployed at the nation’s ports, bridges, tunnels, and transportation hubs, these sensors can help law enforcement agencies intercept dangerous materials before they are used in a terrorist attack.” Current technologies under development include:
• Cadmium-zinc-telluride sensors: These tiny sensors can detect gamma rays emitted by radionuclides of interest to terrorists, including cesium and cobalt. Unlike high-purity germanium detectors, which are expensive and must be kept chilled, these work at room temperature and are inexpensive. • Large-volume xenon-based detectors: These xenon-gas-filled detectors are another room-temperature device that can detect and identify radioisotopes with great sensitivity. • Thermal neutron camera: This highly sensitive helium-based imaging system uses a wire chamber and coded aperture to “see” fissionable radioactive materials like plutonium from a distance. • Mini-Raman LIDAR chemical sensor: This one-of-a-kind portable chemical sensor can locate and identify chemicals (like those used in nerve gas) in the air or deposited on surfaces from a safe distance, using laser scattering patterns to identify a substance’s distinct chemical signature. • Urban Shield: This initiative would integrate real-time data from a network of sensors distributed within a municipal area. This network would employ an array of meteorological instrumentation, satellite data, and detectors to identify and help track chemicals or radionuclides after a release, and provide crucial information to emergency responders.
http://www.bnl.gov
About: DOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory
Established in 1947 on Long Island, Upton, New York, Brookhaven is a multi-program national laboratory operated by Brookhaven Science Associates for the US Department of Energy (DOE). Six Nobel Prizes have been awarded for discoveries made at the Lab. Brookhaven has a staff of approximately 3,000 scientists, engineers, technicians and support staff and over 4,000 guest researchers annually. Brookhaven National Laboratory's role for the DOE is to produce excellent science and advanced technology with the cooperation, support, and appropriate involvement of our scientific and local communities. The fundamental elements of the Laboratory's role in support of the four DOE strategic missions are the following: To conceive, design, construct, and operate complex, leading edge, user-oriented facilities in response to the needs of the DOE and the international community of users. To carry out basic and applied research in long-term, high-risk programs at the frontier of science. To develop advanced technologies that address national needs and to transfer them to other organizations and to the commercial sector. To disseminate technical knowledge, to educate new generations of scientists and engineers, to maintain technical capabilities in the nation's workforce, and to encourage scientific awareness in the general public.
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