National Academies Press: OpenBook
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1999. The Practicality of Pulsed Fast Neutron Transmission Spectroscopy for Aviation Security. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6469.
×

THE PRACTICALITY OF PULSED FAST NEUTRON TRANSMISSION SPECTROSCOPY FOR AVIATION SECURITY

Panel on Assessment of the Practicality of Pulsed Fast Neutron Transmission Spectroscopy for Aviation Security
National Materials Advisory Board
Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems
National Research Council

NNMAB-482-6
Washington, D.C. 1999


Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1999. The Practicality of Pulsed Fast Neutron Transmission Spectroscopy for Aviation Security. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6469.
×

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competencies and with regard for appropriate balance.

This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. William Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce Alberts and Dr. William Wulf are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.

This study by the National Materials Advisory Board was conducted under Contract No. DTFA03-94-C00068 with the Federal Aviation Administration. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1999. The Practicality of Pulsed Fast Neutron Transmission Spectroscopy for Aviation Security. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6469.
×

Panel On Assessment Of The Practicality Of Pulsed Fast Neutron Transmission Spectroscopy For Aviation Security

PATRICK J. GRIFFIN (chair),

Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico

ROBERT BERKEBILE, consultant,

Leesburg, Florida

HOMER BOYNTON, consultant,

Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

LEN LIMMER, consultant,

Fort Worth, Texas

HARRY MARTZ,

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California

CLINTON OSTER, JR.,

Indiana University, Bloomington

National Materials Advisory Board Liaison

JAMES WAGNER,

Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio

National Materials Advisory Board Staff

RICHARD CHAIT, director

CHARLES T. HACH, staff officer

SANDRA HYLAND, senior program manager (until June 1998)

JANICE M. PRISCO, project assistant

Government Liaisons

JOHN DALY,

U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C.

ANTHONY FAINBERG,

Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, D.C.

PAUL JANKOWSKI,

Federal Aviation Administration Technical Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey

LYLE MALOTKY,

Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, D.C.

ALAN K. NOVAKOFF,

Federal Aviation Administration Technical Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1999. The Practicality of Pulsed Fast Neutron Transmission Spectroscopy for Aviation Security. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6469.
×

National Materials Advisory Board

EDGAR A. STARKE, JR. (chair),

University of Virginia, Charlottesville

JESSE BEAUCHAMP,

California Institute of Technology, Pasadena

FRANCIS DiSALVO,

Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

EARL DOWELL,

Duke University, Durham, North Carolina

EDWARD C. DOWLING,

Cyprus Amax Minerals Company, Englewood, Colorado

THOMAS EAGER,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge

ALASTAIR M. GLASS,

Lucent Technologies, Murray Hill, New Jersey

MARTIN E. GLICKSMAN,

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York

JOHN A.S. GREEN,

The Aluminum Association, Washington, D.C.

SIEGFRIED S. HECKER,

Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico

JOHN H. HOPPS, JR.,

Morehouse College, Atlanta, Georgia

MICHAEL JAFFE,

Hoechst Celanese Corporation, Summit, New Jersey

SYLVIA M. JOHNSON,

SRI International, Menlo Park, California

SHEILA F. KIA,

General Motors Research and Development Center, Warren, Michigan

LISA KLEIN,

Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick

HARRY LIPSITT,

Wright State University, Yellow Springs, Ohio

ALAN MILLER,

Boeing Commercial Airplane Group, Seattle, Washington

ROBERT PFAHL,

Motorola, Schaumberg, Illinois

JULIA PHILLIPS,

Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico

KENNETH L. REIFSNIDER,

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg

JAMES WAGNER,

Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio

JULIA WEERTMAN,

Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois

BILL G.W. YEE,

Pratt and Whitney, West Palm Beach, Florida

RICHARD CHAIT, Director

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1999. The Practicality of Pulsed Fast Neutron Transmission Spectroscopy for Aviation Security. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6469.
×

Preface

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the U.S. Department of Transportation was established in 1958 to promote and ensure the safety of air travel. One objective of the FAA is to reduce the vulnerability of the civil air transport system to terrorist threats by employing procedural and technical means to detect and counter threats. The role of the FAA in aviation security also includes developing new technologies for aviation security through the FAA's research and development program.

One area of research being pursued by the FAA is accelerator-based nuclear technologies that detect explosives by measuring the elemental composition of the material under examination. Pulsed fast neutron transmission spectroscopy (PFNTS) is one of these element-specific detection technologies. PFNTS, however, has a number of practical limitations, including large size and weight, the necessity of radiation shielding, and the regulatory and safety issues associated with using neutron-producing equipment in an airport environment.

In the second interim report of the National Research Council's (NRC) Committee on Commercial Aviation Security (CCAS), the committee recommended that the FAA not pursue accelerator-based technologies for primary screening of checked baggage and not fund development projects for large accelerator-based hardware. The CCAS concluded that the detection performance of these methods should be better understood before the FAA addressed airport integration issues. In 1994, the FAA awarded Tensor Technology a two-year grant to build a multidimensional neutron radiometer (MDNR) airline security system. The detection performance of the MDNR showed that it could potentially meet the probability of detection (Pd) required for FAA certification for all but one of the required explosives categories. Based on these test results and in light of the recommendations of the CCAS, the FAA awarded Tensor a six-month cooperative agreement grant to present the company's evaluation of PFNTS compared to other, currently available technologies for the primary screening of passenger baggage for explosives and for the screening of cargo in airports.

In 1998, the FAA requested that the NRC review and evaluate Tensor Technology's assessment of PFNTS in light of the CCAS's recommendations and technical developments since the second interim report. In response to the FAA's request, the NRC convened the Panel on Assessment of the Practicality of Pulsed Fast Neutron Transmission Spectroscopy for Aviation Security under the auspices of the CCAS. The panel was charged with evaluating the practicality of PFNTS for primary screening of passenger baggage or for screening cargo, as compared to currently available x-ray computed tomography (CT)-based systems.

This report evaluates the practicality of PFNTS for aviation security under current performance requirements, as compared to FAA-certified x-ray CT-based systems. The panel also provides several recommendations for prioritizing research to address the technical limitations of PFNTS in the event that funds are appropriated for the continued development of this technology. It should be noted that the panel does not support or oppose such appropriations. It should also be noted that solving the technical challenges of PFNTS will not address the practical limitations (e.g., size and weight) of this technology, which may be the most important factors in determining the role of PFNTS in aviation security.

Patrick J. Griffin, chair

Panel on Assessment of the Practicality of Pulsed Fast Neutron Transmission Spectroscopy for Aviation Security

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1999. The Practicality of Pulsed Fast Neutron Transmission Spectroscopy for Aviation Security. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6469.
×

Acknowledgments

The Panel on Assessment of the Practicality of Pulsed Fast Neutron Transmission Spectroscopy for Aviation Security would like to acknowledge the individuals who contributed to this study, including the following speakers: Curtis Bell, Federal Aviation Administration; Anthony Fainberg, Federal Aviation Administration; Richard Lanza, Massachussetts Institute of Technology; Thomas "Gill" Miller, Tensor Technology; John Overley, University of Oregon; Fred Roder, Federal Aviation Administration; and Peter K. Van Staagan, Tensor Technology. The panel is also grateful for the contributions of the contracting office technical representatives, Paul Jankowski and Alan K. Novakoff. In addition, the panel is appreciative of the insights provided by John Daly, U.S. Department of Transportation; Rodger Dickey, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport; Karl Erdman, Ebco Technology; Ronald Krauss, Federal Aviation Administration; Lyle Malotky, Federal Aviation Administration; Ronald Polillo, Federal Aviation Administration; and Johannes E. van Lier, University De Sherbrooke.

This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the NRC's Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making the published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their participation in the review of this report: Jack Bullard, American Airlines; Robert Gagne, Food and Drug Administration; Robert E. Green, Johns Hopkins University; James Hall, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; John LaRue, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport; Hyla Napadensky, Napadensky Energetics (retired); and John Strong, College of William and Mary. While the individuals listed above have provided constructive comments and suggestions, it must be emphasized that responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the NRC.

For organizing panel meetings and directing this report to completion, the panel would like to thank Charles Hach, Sandra Hyland, Lois Lobo, Janice Prisco, and Pat Williams, staff members of the National Materials Advisory Board. The panel is also appreciative of the efforts of Carol R. Arenberg, editor, Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1999. The Practicality of Pulsed Fast Neutron Transmission Spectroscopy for Aviation Security. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6469.
×

Acronyms


CCAS

Committee on Commercial Aviation Security

CFR

Code of Federal Regulations

CT

computed tomography


EDS

explosives-detection system

EIS

Environmental Impact Statement


FAA

Federal Aviation Administration


MDNR

multidimensional neutron radiometer


NMAB

National Materials Advisory Board

NRC

National Research Council


Pd

probability of detection

Pfa

probability of false alarm

PFNTS

pulsed fast neutron transmission spectroscopy


RCRA

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act


SEIPT

Security Equipment Integrated Product Team


TLD

thermoluminescent dosimeter

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1999. The Practicality of Pulsed Fast Neutron Transmission Spectroscopy for Aviation Security. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6469.
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This page in the original is blank.
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1999. The Practicality of Pulsed Fast Neutron Transmission Spectroscopy for Aviation Security. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6469.
×
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1999. The Practicality of Pulsed Fast Neutron Transmission Spectroscopy for Aviation Security. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6469.
×
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1999. The Practicality of Pulsed Fast Neutron Transmission Spectroscopy for Aviation Security. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6469.
×

Tables, Figures, and Boxes

TABLES

3-1

 

Performance of the University of Oregon Explosives-Detection Algorithm in Blind Tests

 

13

3-2

 

Performance of the Tensor Explosives-Detection Algorithm in Blind Tests

 

14

4-1

 

Performance Test Results for the InVision CTX-5000 SP and CTX-5500 DS

 

17

4-2

 

Summary of Open Testing of CTX-5000 SP at San Francisco International Airport

 

18

6-1

 

Baseline Characteristics/Attributes Used in This Assessment

 

28

FIGURES

2-1a

 

Normalized nitrogen and oxygen distributions determined by PFNTS from the contents of suitcases, with and without explosives

 

11

2-1b

 

Normalized carbon and hydrogen distributions determined by PFNTS from the contents of suitcases, with and without explosives

 

11

2-2

 

Total cross section of hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen as a function of energy

 

12

3-1

 

Neural net values during Tensor blind testing for a slurry sample at an angle in a suitcase

 

15

3-2

 

Gray-scale maps from B-matrix during University of Oregon blind tests of a bag containing an explosive in an iron pipe sloping up to the right

 

15

5-1

 

Artist's conception of the layout of the MDNR

 

20

5-2

 

Possible baggage-flow path for the MDNR

 

22

5-3

 

Photograph of the Ebco TR19 cyclotron accelerator

 

23

BOXES

ES-1

 

CCAS Recommendations for Accelerator-Based Explosives-Detection Technologies

 

2

1-1

 

CCAS Recommendations for Accelerator-Based Explosives-Detection Technologies

 

7

1-2

 

Statement of Task for the Panel on Assessment of the Pulsed Fast Neutron Transmission Spectroscopy for Aviation Security

 

8

6-1

 

Selected CFR Regulations Relevant to PFNTS

 

33

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1999. The Practicality of Pulsed Fast Neutron Transmission Spectroscopy for Aviation Security. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6469.
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A major goal of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and now the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), is the development of technologies for detecting explosives and illegal drugs in freight cargo and passenger luggage. One such technology is pulsed fast neutron analysis (PFNA). This technology is based on detection of signature radiation (gamma rays) induced in material scanned by a beam of neutrons. While PFNA may have the potential to meet TSA goals, it has many limitations. Because of these issues, the government asked the National Research Council to evaluate the potential of PFNA for airport use and compare it with current and future x-ray technology. The results of this survey are presented in "Assessment of the Practicality of Pulsed Fast Neutron Analysis for Aviation Security."

A broad range of detection methods and test results are covered in this report. Tests conducted as of October 2000 showed that the PFNA system was unable to meet the stringent federal aviation requirements for explosive detection in air cargo containers. PFNA systems did, however, demonstrate some superior characteristics compared to existing x-ray systems in detecting explosives in cargo containers, though neither system performed entirely satisfactorily. Substantial improvements are needed in the PFNA detection algorithms to allow it to meet aviation detection standards for explosives in cargo and passenger baggage.

The PFNA system currently requires a long scan time (an average of 90 minutes per container in the prototype testing in October 2000), needs considerable radiation shielding, is significantly larger than current x-ray systems, and has high implementation costs. These factors are likely to limit installation at airports, even if the detection capability is improved. Nevertheless, because PFNA has the best potential of any known technology for detecting explosives in cargo and luggage, this book discusses how continued research to improve detection capabilities and system design can best be applied for the airport environment.

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