Chapter 13
Developing a Radiological and Nuclear
Interdiction Network
Unlike biological agents, chemicals, and explosives, radiation can be detected at a
distance; a high-activity radioactive source can be detected at a distance of a kilometer
or more using hand-held instruments and to distances of more than 2 km with largevolume scintillation detectors. This makes it possible to establish instrumentation
networks that can be used to interdict radioactive and nuclear weapons.
As we shall see, an effective interdiction network will include multiple layers;
there will be responders with varying levels of training, wielding instruments of
varying levels of sophistication and capability, using a variety of techniques, in a
number of geographic locations surrounding likely or potential targets.
In most major cities the bulk of the work of interdiction relies on law enforcement
personnel walking and driving the streets as they go about their routine duties. One
reason for this approach is that most cities have more police officers than radiation
safety experts and, if they want to deploy a large number of radiation detectors
then it is often most effective to deploy them in the cars and on the belts of the
police, whose patrols encompass all parts of the city. However, this means that the
majority of interdiction surveys are performed by personnel who are not radiation
safety professionals and who are performing these surveys in addition to their routine
work. As a result, the radiation detectors given to these personnel tend to be relatively
simple and inexpensive devices that the users can be quickly taught to use properly.
This “base” is augmented by lesser numbers of more sophisticated detectors
carried by more highly trained responders. And if the city cannot resolve an issue
using their own personnel, there is often the ability to contact a national resource (in
the US this would be the system of national laboratories and national agencies) for
what is called “reachback”—transmitting data to highly trained scientists who are
able to contribute their expertise to resolving any problems that arise. In addition,
the current trend of using radiation detectors as part of an interconnected network
as well as combining information from multiple sensors (e.g. cameras, license plate
readers, and so forth) with the information from radiation detectors can provide a
great deal of information that can be valuable in interdiction operations.
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
P. A. Karam, Radiological and Nuclear Terrorism,
Advanced Sciences and Technologies for Security Applications,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69162-2_13
125
Developing a Radiological and Nuclear
Interdiction Network
Unlike biological agents, chemicals, and explosives, radiation can be detected at a
distance; a high-activity radioactive source can be detected at a distance of a kilometer
or more using hand-held instruments and to distances of more than 2 km with largevolume scintillation detectors. This makes it possible to establish instrumentation
networks that can be used to interdict radioactive and nuclear weapons.
As we shall see, an effective interdiction network will include multiple layers;
there will be responders with varying levels of training, wielding instruments of
varying levels of sophistication and capability, using a variety of techniques, in a
number of geographic locations surrounding likely or potential targets.
In most major cities the bulk of the work of interdiction relies on law enforcement
personnel walking and driving the streets as they go about their routine duties. One
reason for this approach is that most cities have more police officers than radiation
safety experts and, if they want to deploy a large number of radiation detectors
then it is often most effective to deploy them in the cars and on the belts of the
police, whose patrols encompass all parts of the city. However, this means that the
majority of interdiction surveys are performed by personnel who are not radiation
safety professionals and who are performing these surveys in addition to their routine
work. As a result, the radiation detectors given to these personnel tend to be relatively
simple and inexpensive devices that the users can be quickly taught to use properly.
This “base” is augmented by lesser numbers of more sophisticated detectors
carried by more highly trained responders. And if the city cannot resolve an issue
using their own personnel, there is often the ability to contact a national resource (in
the US this would be the system of national laboratories and national agencies) for
what is called “reachback”—transmitting data to highly trained scientists who are
able to contribute their expertise to resolving any problems that arise. In addition,
the current trend of using radiation detectors as part of an interconnected network
as well as combining information from multiple sensors (e.g. cameras, license plate
readers, and so forth) with the information from radiation detectors can provide a
great deal of information that can be valuable in interdiction operations.
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
P. A. Karam, Radiological and Nuclear Terrorism,
Advanced Sciences and Technologies for Security Applications,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69162-2_13
125