ACTIONS PLAN #2 – PREVENTING THE ILLICIT APPEARANCE OF THE RADIATION SOURCE IN THE CONTROLLED AREA. DETECTION OF THE SOURCE WHEN CHECKING THE VEHICLES ON THE ROAD WITHINTHE SCOPE OF PREVENTING ACTIONS AGAINST RADIATION AND NUCLEAR TERRORISM.

The POLYSMART PRD & Identifier or hand-held multipurpose identifier can be attached to the waist belt or can be placed into the pocket of the uniform of the traffic police officer and it operates in the automatic detection (alarm) mode. If necessary the audible alarm can be turned OFF and the instrument will operate only with the vibration alarm. During inspection of the vehicle (checking the documents, inspection of the cargo if necessary, etc) depending on the type of the detector the instrument is capable to detect even the least deviations of radiation background from the natural one that means that the radioactive source is present in vehicle.

In this situation the inspector must answer the following questions:

• Location of the source


• To what extent it is harmful from the point of view of radiation risk


• Type of the source (natural or artificial)


• If the source is artificial what origin it is


• What actions must be taken


• Who must be informed that the source has been detected

The inspector is capable to answer all these questions using the hand-held multipurpose instrument, incorporated in the POLISMART system.

After alarm of the instrument the inspector enters its other operating modes, locates the source, measures its radiation level and identifies the source. The place coordinates are automatically tied-in and the information of the accident, place, time and conditions of the accident is immediately transmitted to the DMSS. If necessary the information can be transmitted to DMSS from the video camera built-in in the instrument (license plate of the vehicle, picture of the driver, etc). Depending on the readings of the instrument the inspector performs the following actions based on the instructions displayed in the LCD of the instrument:

• If the source is identified as the natural one and its radiation level does not exceed the allowable limits, the inspector lets the vehicle pass. The allowable values of the radiation levels of natural radionuclides are saved in the memory of the instrument or they can be obtained by sending request to the DMSS


• If the instrument detects the radiation source in the body of the driver and the driver has document confirming use of pharmaceutical medication and the instrument identifies the presence of medical isotopes, the inspector lets the vehicle pass


• In case the source is artificial, its type is determined and it corresponds to the information declared in the shipping documents (legal transportation), the inspector lets the vehicle pass. The confirmation that this transportation is legal can be also obtained from the DMSS which data base contains the corresponding information provided by the sender of the cargo or by customs service if the cargo is delivered from a foreign country


• In case it is proved that the illicit trafficking of the artificial source takes place, so depending on the type of the source, its radiation level, etc the inspector contacts online the corresponding service or organization. After the inspector completes all necessary procedures the information where and who the inspector should contact is displayed in the LCD of the instrument

When the inspector performs all specified procedures the information of the accident is automatically transmitted to the DMSS systems. This information is processed and input into corresponding data bases. All processes and procedures are supervised in real time mode and the collected information are saved and obtained any time if such necessity occurs.

The information is available for the experts and persons responsible for performing the radiation control procedures and ensuring radiation safety.

NOTE: From the experience, in most of the cases, especially during checking of the trucks the multiple alarms of the instrument are caused by “innocent sources” i.e. by natural radionuclides. Due to this reason the possibility of performing fast identification of these alarms in the field conditions is very important. Especially if to take into consideration the fact, that in the event of smuggling of the source the criminals will try to hide them in the cargoes with the high concentration of the natural radionuclides. Using the POLISMART™ system gives a real possibility to solve this problem for the first time in the world.