Are portable personnel portal monitors too sensitive?

Abstract

The Human Monitoring Laboratory has field tested its Portable Personnel Portal (P3) Monitors using sources up to 1700 MBq (47 mCi) to determine the alarm distance as a function of activity. The results show that the P3 monitors are highly sensitive, so much so that siting will be a problem for multiple units if multiple alarms are to be avoided. Building materials will shield the monitors allowing units to be placed closer together than in the open where there is no shielding, but windows and doors reduce shielding and complicate the siting of multiple units. In either situation, careful prior thought should be given to siting the monitors and the logistics of the crowd control techniques.

Modeling Population Screening Process for Maximizing Throughputs

“…The HML has a small stockpile of handheld radiation monitors, portal monitors, and high resolution portable whole body counters. Over the past years, the HML has carried out underlying research in support of this emergency response function (Kramer et al 2006(Kramer et al , 2007a(Kramer et al , 2007b(Kramer et al , 2009a(Kramer et al , 2009b(Kramer et al , 2012Kramer and Hauck 2011) as have others (Engdahi and Bharwani 2005;Miller et al 2011;Palmer et al 2012) looking at maximizing sensitivity of the screening techniques and the effect of persons carrying substantial contamination (either externally or internally) on the screening equipment. In addition, the HML has also had the opportunity to participate in several large scale exercises that have provided both experience and ideas for improving its field deployable capabilities (Cornett et al 2009;Cornett and Kramer 2010;Kramer et al 2005Kramer et al , 2007cKramer et al , 2009c.…”