Year
2011
Abstract
In 2008, the Finnish government decided to provide funding to a project for upgrading the radiation monitoring systems at the Finnish border stations. The project is scheduled for the years 2009-2014. The object of the project is to enhance the radiation monitoring operation at Finnish borders. The project is done in cooperation with Finnish Customs and Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, STUK. In 2011 the project plan includes equipping the major airport of Finland, Helsinki-Vantaa, with comprehensive radiation monitoring network. Helsinki-Vantaa had 12,8 million passengers in 2010. The system will cover passenger terminals, cargo terminals, aviation mail terminal and courier terminals. Altogether about 30 radiation monitors will be installed. Nearly all monitors will be connected to central software and database, locating in the Command and Control Center of Customs. The alarms from the detectors will be redirected to mobile terminals carried by Customs officers. The system will be complemented with cameras, so the radiating object can be visually monitored. Monitors covering passengers and cargo will be spectrometric NaI devices, capable of basic identification of medical isotopes and legal transports. In addition Customs officers have at their disposal handheld and backpack identifiers. Spectrometric devices are capable of identifying a number of radioactive isotopes that are most typically encountered with. The identified nuclides are classified as NORM, medical, industrial or Special Nuclear Materials. This is very useful for the customs officers, providing first hand information on the type of the detected radioactive material. Automatic analysis of low resolution spectra is not always reliable. Therefore, for efficient use of spectral detector, it is imperative that the spectra can be delivered to the experts for more detailed analysis. Technical Reachback1 support for Customs officers will be organised by STUK. The data from all spectrometric devices, including the mobile ones can be transferred to the database, which is accessible by Technical Reachback experts any time. In this paper the hardware, software and concept of operations are described.