Updated guide to nondestructive assay of nuclear materials

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A radiation portal monitor checks vehicles entering a country. Credit: William H. Geist et al., Springer, CC BY 4.0 International 

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An open-access book published by the Safeguards Science and Technology group (NEN-1) at Los Alamos National Laboratory describes techniques used to measure the presence of uranium and plutonium in a variety of settings.

People, organizations and agencies working in nuclear safeguards and security use these techniques to

• detect and deter clandestine nuclear weapons programs
• prevent insider attempts to steal nuclear materials
• support safeguards conducted by the International Atomic Energy Agency under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

The 735-page book is a substantial revision to “Passive Nondestructive Assay of Nuclear Materials” — the so-called PANDA manual — that has been a classic reference since 1991. The new edition, “Nondestructive Assay of Nuclear Materials for Safeguards and Security,” can be downloaded for free as a PDF through Springer.

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Why this matters: The book’s extensive revisions are of interest to practitioners in the field of safeguarding and securing nuclear materials, including inspectors, operators and trainers.

• For this second edition, the editors drew on their vast international experience and engaged the help of their Los Alamos colleagues, as well as other national labs and organizations.
• The expanded reference covers modern approaches and technologies to nondestructively measure nuclear material.
• Nuclear data values have been updated.

Funding: This work was partially funded by the DOE/NNSA offices of NA-241 (Office of International Nuclear Safeguards) and NA-211 (Office of International Nuclear Security). 

Technical contacts: William H. Geist, Peter A. Santi (Nuclear Engineering and Nonproliferation division) and Martyn T. Swinhoe (Nuclear Nonproliferation and Security Program Office)

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This new edition covers modern approaches and technologies to nondestructively measure and analyze nuclear material, from handheld gamma-ray detectors to large-scale radiation portal monitors that scan vehicles. Credit: Springer