Radiation detection field test at the Federal Express (FedEx) air cargo facility at Denver International Airport (DIA)

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) recently conducted a field-test of radiation detection and identification equipment at the air cargo facility of Federal Express (FedEx) located at Denver International Airport (DIA) over a period of two weeks. Comprehensive background measurements were performed and were analyzed, and a trial strategy for detection and identification of parcels displaying radioactivity was implemented to aid in future development of a comprehensive protection plan. The purpose of this project was threefold: quantify background radiation environments at an air cargo facility; quantify and identify "nuisance" alarms; evaluate the performance of various isotope identifiers deployed in an operational environment. LLNL emplaced a primary screening detector that provided the initial detection of radiation anomalies in near real-time. Once detected, a secondary test location provided capability to perform higher-resolution analysis of the parcels or containers that triggered the primary detector. Two triggered radiation events were observed during the course of this project. Both of the radiation events were determined to be legitimate shipments of radioactive material. The overall effect of this project on FedEx operations and personnel was deemed to be minimal.© (2004) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.