Evaluating Testing, Costs, and Benefits of Advanced Spectroscopic Portals for Screening Cargo at Ports of Entry Interim Report (Abbreviated Version) (2009) / Chapter Skim
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3 Testing and Analyses of the ASP and PVT/RIID Systems
3 Testing and Analyses of the ASP and PVT/RIID Systems
Pages 25-43
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From page 25... ...
This chapter is based on the committee's observations in visits to ports of entry and test sites, reports of testing done before 2008 and documented plans for 2008 tests, observations of performance tests conducted in 2008 at the Nevada Test Site, and a briefing (October 8, 2008) on preliminary results from performance tests done in 2008.
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What is the secondary screening sites. cargo containers to feed range and variation in radiation The data collected were into injection studies emitted by typical cargo?
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From page 27... ...
Secondary RIID How do the systems perform with screening is carried out in threat sources in the presence of of shielding and the staging area masking and attenuating material? masking on ASP and RIID performance against threat objects and NORM - Collect data to support verification of system requirements Collect data in support of operational testing and evaluation requirements Integration Tests conducted by DNDO Demonstrate that the ASP Do the ASP systems meet the Tests at PNNL's 331G test systems are ready to be necessary integration requirements facility.
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From page 28... ...
Furthermore, it is neither possible nor desirable to test every possible combination of cargoes and configurations. Physical testing with radiation sources, especially special nuclear material, is expensive and time consuming, and procurement decisions must be made in a timely fashion.
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Criteria for Significant Increase in Operational Effectiveness of the ASP-C when deployed for Secondary Screening If ASP-C satisfies both of the following criteria for secondary screening, then a SIOE has been demonstrated, independent of whether the criteria for deployment to primary have been satisfied. These enhancements would increase CBP's capability to interdict SNM while more consistently and expeditiously executing secondary screening operations.
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In contrast with the ASP, the RIID requires much more operator interaction. DNDO performance tests prior to 2008 did not follow all of the relevant standard operating procedures for use of the RIIDs.
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Many of the flaws in past testing were addressed in 2008 tests. For example, in 2008 performance tests, real CBP officers conducted the RIID screening of containers referred to secondary screening, and DNDO included LSS analysis in evaluating the outcomes of those screens.
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From page 32... ...
In part to address this problem, DNDO engaged scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, and Los Alamos National Laboratory to carry out "injection studies." These are virtual tests in which the gamma spectra of additional test sources, which were experimentally recorded at the national labs under controlled circumstances, are added to ("injected into") spectra of cargo in the stream of commerce collected by ASPs during the 2007 New York Container Terminal test.
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From page 33... ...
If they do not agree within statistical uncertainties, then the reasons for disagreement should be examined and corrected. When broad agreement has been obtained, then examples of observed NORM and medical and industrial radiation sources can be integrated in a model with threat material to explore the capabilities of the ASPs and PVTs against a much larger, more multidimensional threat space.
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From page 34... ...
To overcome the inherent limitations of physical testing, modeling of the ASP systems responses would be invaluable to the DNDO testing and analysis. With these models, many test geometries could be evaluated and the selected results compared to the actual physical tests to verify the modeling.
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Performance testing takes place only at NTS, and DHS's operational testing of the ASPs is planned to take place at only one location: The Port of Long Beach. The committee believes that it is important to evaluate the effects of a variation in background intensity and spectra because significant variations are expected among the ports of entry across the United States.
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From page 36... ...
This issue is described in detail in Appendix B Performance Testing Results and Evaluation FINDING Because they have large detectors and because of their configuration, ASPs would be expected to improve isotope identification, and provide greater consistency in screening each container, greater coverage of each container, and increased speed of screening over that of the PVT/RIID combination when used in secondary screening.
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Operational testing is designed to determine if the system is effective and fully useful in field, operational settings and when operated by regular users, not just in a laboratory or test setting. Operational test and evaluation means the field test, under realistic operational conditions, of any equipment item or system intended for use by typical DHS users in defending the U.S.
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From page 38... ...
. The injection studies that DHS and DOE have sponsored enable scientists to test the isotope identification algorithms, but the role of injection studies in the overall test plan is still very limited and does not establish an analytical basis for understanding the detector systems' capabilities, so a more full and more fully integrated approach to modeling and physical testing is needed.
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From page 39... ...
For all of the reasons cited above about 2008 performance tests, DHS cannot conclude definitively whether ASPs will consistently outperform the current PVT-RIID systems in routine practice until the shortcomings are addressed. Better measurement and characterization are a necessary first step but may not be sufficient to enable DHS to conclude that the ASPs meet the criteria DHS has defined for achieving a "significant increase in operational effectiveness." The committee recommends modifications to the current DHS approach to the evaluation procedure.
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RECOMMENDATION DHS should deploy its currently unused low-rate initial production ASPs for primary and secondary inspection at various sites. This would allow extended operational testing with a small investment.
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If the HPRDS yields improved RIIDs in the next few years then the ASP performance tests will have compared the ASPs to outdated technology, which can lead to poor choices in cost-benefit tradeoffs. By separating the software and hardware elements and engaging the broader science and engineering community, 36 DHS would have increased confidence in its procurement of the best product available with current technology, and simultaneously could advance the state of the art.
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From page 42... ...
(As noted earlier in this chapter, DNDO revised its performance testing for 2008 to address this problem, and preliminary results suggest that the tests found the transition ranges.) The committee believes that by approaching the test, evaluation, and future technology development as an iterative process, the limited deployment of the existing ASP systems could be a vital tool in improving the technology prior to blanket deployment at U.S.
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CHAPTER 3: TESTING AND ANALYSIS OF THE ASP AND PVT/RIID SYSTEMS 43 survey of past research and information, assistance, and collaboration could help DNDO tap into the expertise within those institutions.
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