A Comparison of Neutron‐Based Non‐Destructive Assessment Methods for Chemical Warfare Materiel and High Explosives

Prompt Gamma Neutron Activation Analysis (PGNAA) systems employ neutrons as a probe to interrogate items, e.g. chemical warfare materiel‐filled munitions. The choice of a neutron source in field‐portable systems is determined by its ability to excite nuclei of interest, operational concerns such as radiological safety and ease‐of‐use, and cost. Idaho National Laboratory’s PINS Chemical Assay System has traditionally used a 252Cf isotopic neutron source, but recently a deuterium‐tritium (DT) electronic neutron generator (ENG) has been tested as an alternate neutron source. This paper presents the results of using both of these neutron sources to interrogate chemical warfare materiel (CWM) and high explosive (HE) filled munitions.