Radiation Detection: The Achilles Heel of the Modern Port?

By Andrew Goldsmith, Vice President, Rapiscan Systems

No modern port underestimates the importance of cargo screening – from weapons and narcotics interdiction to customs enforcement to early detection of potential terrorist threats, screening inbound cargo containers is a necessary task.  But the threat climate facing ports is not static, nor is the rate at which illegal or illicit materials enter ports of commerce, making it vital that port operators be ever vigilant for new threats and for emerging methods to detect existing dangers.

Increasingly, this means preparing port screening operations for radiation and nuclear material detection, a far, far trickier task than simply scanning containers for weapons or contraband.  And for good reason – historically, rad/nuke detection could easily become a serious challenge to the flow of commerce in-and-out of a given port.

The Radioactive Past

In the past, radiation detection systems were completely incompatible with high-energy inspection systems due to the risk of false or nuisance alarms because of conflicting methodologies.  These systems were also “inelegant,” to say the least, as they could often only determine whether or not a container contained radioactive material; whether that material was dangerous or naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) like granite or cat littler or where it was located within the container was not a component of these baseline technologies.  More granular detection would then have to be done via hand scanning cross-referenced with X-ray images and manifests; not the most efficient of methods.

To help make enhanced radiation detection more widespread, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) enacted the Advanced Spectroscopic Portals Program, effectively a project to develop and implement next-generation radiation detection systems for cargo.  Unfortunately, the sheer cost of these advanced machines turned off many ports from the idea, and the program has since been discontinued.

The threat posed by radioactive materials, however, is very real.  One needs to look no further than the mess at the Port of Genoa that started in July of 2010 – a single container emitting large amounts of radiation caused a near-shutdown of the entire port.  This wasn’t due to a potential dirty bomb; the radioactive material was just poorly disposed of medical waste.  Even so, this incident highlights the importance of radiation detection to the port community at large.

Luckily, a lot has changed in just a few short years when it comes to radiation detection at ports.  And it’s almost all for the better.

Radiation Detection: The Here-and-Now

First and foremost, modern radiation detection solutions, like those provided by Rapiscan, do not interfere with or receive interference from high-energy X-ray inspection systems, thanks to better shielding and overall integration methodologies.  This is of significant import to the port industry, not only because of false alarm reduction but also because it allows for a smaller checkpoint.  Because the rad/nuke systems no longer have to operate in isolation from traditional screening systems, the inspection process can be streamlined and brought into a single checkpoint, greatly improving throughput while cutting back on the footprint.

The new wave of radiation detection technologies also offers isotopic identification capabilities, which give checkpoint operators a far more granular view of a given container’s radioactive profile.  Essentially, isotropic identification can flag radiation as NORM or as something that could represent a threat or illicit materials.  This granularity also helps provide a far more accurate depiction of WHERE the material is in a given container, making it far easier to conduct secondary inspections or remediation, if needed.

To top it off, thanks to the rapid pace of the technology’s development and deployment, these systems are not significantly more expensive than the “tried and true,” overly simple tools of the past five years.  Though not as sophisticated as the US DHS’s ASP program, these new systems won’t break the bank nor will they disrupt the stream of commerce. 

Instead, they integrate seamlessly into existing inspection regimes giving ports authorities, operators, shippers and customs agencies the right tools at the right price to detect radioactive materials.  Of course, before any port operation makes the decision to integrate radiation detection into their security inspection process, they need to ask one big question:

Do I really need radiation detection?

Radiation Detection: The Big Questions

It might seem ridiculous to think of radiation detection as optional, especially given that radiation screening is a major component to US and Western Europe customs operations. The fact is, however, that if a port operator is not seeing a significant chunk of their traffic heading to these nations and does not have to comply with a national radiation detection guideline, rad/nuke detection may not be necessary or a baseline tool could be acceptable.

It’s certainly a benefit as a value-add to shippers that a port can screen for these types of materials, and if trade is picking up with the US or Western Europe, then implementing a radiation screening program should be looked at as necessary.  But if this type of commerce is neither a current nor future driver for a given port, then radiation detection should be looked at as more of a luxury than a necessity.

Another factor to consider in adding radiation screening to an existing inspection regime is the type of cargo leaving a given port.  If there is a wide variety of goods, both manufactured and raw, exiting for international shipping, something more sophisticated than a baseline “is this radioactive” screening tool should be deployed.  If most containers are homogeneous, then a simple scanning regime should work, but more complex cargo loads require more complex screening.

Finally, port operators need to consider throughput volume.  If they often experiences periods of high traffic and any interruptions could greatly impact the flow of commerce, then a sophisticated radiation detection system should be used, if only to cut down on false/nuisance alarms that could create a bottleneck.

Radiation detection at ports has come a long way in a short time, from “yes/no” detectors to integrated, intelligent systems that run side-by-side with existing screening technologies.  While it may still not be a fit for every port operation, technology advances in detecting radioactive materials have made the process easier, more efficient and more cost effective than ever before.