Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire: Nuclear threat detection gets more funding

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Nuclear threat detection gets more funding

The race to develop technological capability to detect any potential threat of nuclear terrorism received additional funding Tuesday amid industry warnings the dangers of unpredictable enemy acts remain present. Dynasil Corp. of America said it was pledged a $2 million additional U.S. Department of Homeland Security award to advance nuclear detection capabilities. Dynasil said the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is allocating the funds to its subsidiary, Radiation Monitoring Devices, Inc.
The money will go toward funding advancement of new high-performance nuclear threat detector materials that are potentially important additions to the United States' homeland security arsenal.
The company says its scintillator materials represent a leap forward in radiation detection performance that can have military, industrial and medical uses.
Dynasil's crystal scintillator, optically coupled with a photodetector, converts radiation to visible light to detect radiation and dangerous nuclear materials that could be used in a "dirty" bomb or a nuclear device.
Despite financial constraints of current economic conditions, both administration and industry leaders have put emphasis on detection of hostile nuclear materials. Additional programs have concentrated on detecting anthrax and other dangerous substances.
The crystal scintillator is highly sensitive and can differentiate between a broad range of threatening and non-threatening materials, thus reducing false negatives, said the company.
Recent research has focused on the risk of terrorists smuggling nuclear material into the United States to create a weapon of mass destruction. Dynasil described it as "one of the most serious threats faced by the United States."
In the meantime, government security measures have involved preventive measures to remove the possibility of terrorists "acquiring radioactive materials that would allow them to fabricate a nuclear weapon," Dynasil said.More at http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Nuclear_threat_detection_gets_more_funding_999.html