Developing a Radiological Surveillance Education Exercise at Texas A&M University

Researchers at the Nuclear Security Science and Policy Institute (NSSPI) at Texas A&M University are developing a practical exercise to provide Texas A&M nuclear engineering students the opportunity to design and implement a radiological surveillance system. Housed in the new AI nuclear engineering building on the Texas A&M campus, the Safeguards Laboratory Complex is the setting for a modular radiological surveillance system that students will design, modify, and evaluate for monitoring the movement of special nuclear material throughout the Complex. Using a radiation transport software, the Complex was modeled with the building’s floor-plan and structure, access points, sources, and radiological monitors to evaluate the path of least vulnerability of an isotropic gamma source simulating a CRM 969 uranium enrichment standard. The placement of the monitors was optimized to maximize material tracking. After modeling the system within the Complex, NSSPI researchers installed wall fixtures to which real radiation monitors could be affixed and moved to allow for verifying the computer model. Based on a previously-presented proof of concept by NSSPI researchers, the complete procedure, and analysis are being compiled into a comprehensive report which will be used as the basis for enhancing the practical education of Texas A&M students interested in nuclear security. This paper will describe the modeling of the Complex, the optimization technique for enhancing the material tracking through radiological surveillance, and the method in which NSSPI researchers will implement this experience as a learning tool for future nuclear security students.