McGRAW HILL FINANCIAL
aviationweek.com/awst
July 8, 2013
Tech Scan
Quick Fix
Bill Sweetman
M
ost cargo containers destined for U.S. ports are not
screened for hazardous substances such as explosives
or even nuclear materials. A law passed in 2007 called
for that to be done by 2012, with 100% scanning of freight containers at the port of loading, but that goal was not met because
the available technology would have impeded trade. The equipment was expensive to acquire and use; it was based on X-ray
technology, with consequent health and safety restrictions; and
took too long to handle the 17 million containers imported to the
U.S. each year.
about 2 in. in diameter–containing a
charged gas and linked to a processor.
They detect the muons as they pass
through a target container. By measuring the refraction angles of the particles, the system creates a 3-D picture of
the electron attenuation cross-section
(EACS) and density of the container’s
contents. The combination of density
and EACS is a near-unique characteristic of any material and allows MMPDS
to detect non-nuclear threat substances
such as explosives. In a border application, it can also see people concealed
in a vehicle. The system is scalable,
although larger arrays and largerdiameter tubes provide the best
resolution.
According to Decision Sciences
CEO Stanton Sloane, MMPDS has,
MMPDS scanner from Decision
Sciences uses muons to
rapidly inspect cargo containers
in ports.
Decision Sciences
A startup company, Decision Sciences, believes it has a solution. Its
Multi-Mode Passive Detection System
(MMPDS) uses technology licensed
from Los Alamos National Laboratory. It primarily works by tracking
muons, cosmic ray particles that pass
harmlessly through the atmosphere
and most natural and artificial objects.
However, as muons pass through solid
objects they are diverted, as light is refracted by a lens, to a greater or lesser
degree, according to their density.
The MMPDS comprises upper and
lower stacked arrays of aluminum
tubes–17,000 in the current version,
in tests, detected a 2-kg (4.4-lb.)
mass of depleted uranium (similar
to highly enriched uranium from the
detection viewpoint) that was in a
container and shielded with 8 in. of
steel and 4 in. of lead. Images of a car
show people and their recognizably
different sizes and builds. It could,
he says, be used to image the core
of the tsunami-damaged Fukushima
reactor in Japan. It has also detected as
little as 400 grams (12.8 oz.) of PETN
explosive. Because it detects gamma
radiation, MMPDS can distinguish
bentonite clay–better known as kitty
litter–from explosive.
The system is fast. It operates with
primary and secondary scanning
modes. It can declare a container
“clean” in 30-45 sec. Since it is passive,
the system can be set up as a drivethrough with the driver remaining in
his vehicle. A longer high-resolution
scan is performed if anomalies are
detected.
A single machine can inspect 420,000
containers per year, which is enough for
most ports: out of 740-plus ports worldwide that ship to the U.S., around 120
handle 99.5% of the total container flow.
The remainder ship under 420,000 containers and would need only one scanner each.
MMPDS has been in operation
since August 2012 at Freeport Container Port in the Bahamas. The site
was chosen because its operator is a
subsidiary of the world’s largest port
developer, Hutchison Whampoa, and it
is close to the U.S. but has significant
trans-shipment traffic from around the
world to U.S. ports.
Decision Sciences hopes that the
availability of practical technology will
allow the U.S. Homeland Security Department to comply with the 2007 law
and go for 100% scanning. Meanwhile,
potential users in the U.S. and elsewhere are evaluating the technology for
explosives and contraband detection. c
Reprinted from Aviation Week, July 8, 2013, copyright by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. with all rights reserved.
This reprint implies no endorsement, either tacit or expressed, of any company, product, service or investment opportunity.
#C21213 Reprinted by The YGS Group, 800.290.5460. For more information visit www.theYGSgroup.com/content.