1
Situational
Awareness Monitor for Nuclear Events--ADA
Technologies, Inc., 8100 Shaffer Parkway, Suite 130, Littleton, CO
80127-4107; 303-792-5615, www.adatech.com
Mr.
Patrick D. French, Principal Investigator, patf@adatech.com
Mr.
Clifford H. Brown, Jr., Business Official,
DOE
Grant No. DE-FG02-03ER83590
Amount:
$749,999
With
the ever-present threat of terrorist attacks on American soil, it is
increasingly important to monitor pre-nuclear-event warning signs and provide
post-nuclear-event assessment for use in consequent management and emergency
response. In particular, major urban
centers are potential targets of nuclear attacks, “dirty bomb” attacks, and
chemical/biological agent attacks. This
project will develop, demonstrate and make commercially available a
cost-effective, easy-to-use Situational Awareness Monitoring System (SAMS)
comprised of a series of individually configurable Micro-Environmental Sensor
Pods (MSP) containing both meteorological sensors and radiation detectors with
good spectral resolution. These
units would be permanently deployed to establish baseline conditions and monitor
for pre-event warning signs. Additional
units could be quickly deployed after an event to augment the network for the
emergency response and clean-up teams. The
network feeds data to a central station where advanced computer models of plume
dispersion could predict the spread of material from a radiological terrorist
incident. In Phase I, a high
resolution gamma ray spectrometer was incorporated into a plug-and-play sensor
module for use with an MSP and was shown to detect and identify radioactive
material in a passing vehicle. The
data was relayed from the MSP to a personal computer via a radio link,
demonstrating the feasibility this system for detecting unauthorized nuclear
material. In Phase II, the advanced
gamma ray spectrum analyzer will be incorporated into a sensor module for use
with the open architecture plug-and-play port on an existing Situational
Awareness Monitor (SAM). Additional wireless dosimeter sensors will be included
to further enhance the capability of the SAM system, and to provide information
to characterize suspicious sources. By
incorporating baseline data from the sensor network in atmospheric/plume models,
the spread of toxic material through an urban center could be projected,
allowing policy makers to create emergency response plans.
Commercial
Applications and Other Benefits as
described by awardee: This system
should see immediate market demand from agencies responsible for homeland
security in metropolitan areas and military bases.
Since the sensor interface is generic, detectors for chemical agents,
pollutants, or other contaminants can also be incorporated into the Situational
Awareness Monitor for data collection and transmission.