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Transportable Radiation Monitoring System (TRMS)

In collaboration with the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Transportation Security Administration, and the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO), an Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) team successfully field tested radiation detection technologies as part of the Transportable Radiation Monitoring System (TRMS) Project. The objectives of this project were to:

• Design and deliver a transportable radiation monitoring system;
• Write the Concept of Operations (ConOps) that describe how to deploy and use the TRMS and how to respond to alarms; and
• Assess the performance of the TRMS under field conditions.

The performance of the TRMS is being assessed under two different field conditions. The first test was conducted on the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Reservation where individual shipping and receiving documents were used to validate the data detected by the radiation detectors. More than 42,000 vehicles were monitored in this first test. The second test was a field operational test (FOT) where TRMS was tested under "real-world" conditions.

This real-world field testing took place at the Interstate 95 Ladysmith Rest Areas, Caroline County, Virginia, from November 6 through November 15 (excluding Friday November 10 and weekends). Participation in this test was voluntary and 300 vehicles were monitored during the seven-day FOT. Much of the emphasis in the FOT was on response procedures carried out by the TRMS operators, in the event of an alarm detecting radioactive material, and the TRMS deployment was subjected to more than 10 "red-team" scenarios in which DNDO teams "tested" the TRMS system and operators with unannounced drills with vehicles carrying radioactive material.

The Transportable Radiation Monitoring System (TRMS) is a self-contained radiation detection system that can be quickly deployed to specific locations throughout the U.S. whenever potential threats on specific transportation corridors or locations are identified.

The TRMS consists of two utility-type trailers that contain commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) radiation detection systems that can detect radiation emitting materials in vehicles, containers, persons or other objects. A system consists of two radiation detection assemblies, one panel in each trailer (as shown in Figure 3). Vehicles and other objects to be screened pass between the two panels.

Radiation detection is done using large-volume, plastic-scintillation detectors located in each trailer. In addition, a spectroscopic system mounted in the main trailer can identify the radiation source (for example, Cesium 137, Cobalt 60, etc.) based on the emitted photons. By combining the two detection systems, decisions can be made quickly and effectively when an alarm occurs. In addition to these gamma radiation systems, each of the two trailers contains a series of neutron detectors to detect neutron radiation emitters such as those found in Special Nuclear Materials.

Each trailer has its own automatic power control center that enables the system to run from line AC power, battery, on-board generator, or from the tow vehicle battery. The main trailer also incorporates a solar cell array to provide a means to charge the on-board battery.