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HANDHELD HOMELAND SECURITY
Facing nuclear proliferation threats, Los Alamos National Laboratory gets creative with handhelds
By Christine Harland Williams
To help border patrol officers, police and emergency workers prevent someone from getting a nuclear weapon into the US and detonating it, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) scientists have developed a hand-held nuclear isotope identifier that can detect and identify a source of radiation and wirelessly send data about it to experts who can provide further analysis.
Handhelds and homeland security
What makes this device so unique is its use of a wireless palmOne handheld, already popular among law enforcement and government agencies across the country. The device carries a $20,000 price tag and consists of two parts: (1) a palmOne handheld that provides the user interface, communication device and data archiving, and (2) a high-end radiation detector with a microprocessor.
According to William Murray, the LANL scientist who led the development effort, the LANL's Palm CZT Spectrometer is lighter, smaller and easier to use than any radiation detector currently available on the market, and the only one that can identify a radiation source and communicate its findings via a wireless link. This makes it the ideal device for non-technical field personnel such as officers protecting U.S. borders and ports of entry and emergency responders.
Small and simple solution
"Most of the monitors in use by border officials today that can identify the source of some radiation are very difficult for non-technical people to use, and are quite large and bulky, weighing in around 7 pounds," Murray explained. Their greatest weakness is that when those monitors detect radiation, they can trigger false alarms when they detect radiation coming from non-threatening sources, such as people who use isotopes for medical purposes, according to Murray.
Los Alamos has ordered 42 of the Palm CZT Spectrometer devices like the one pictured in Figure A, which will be used by Department of Energy teams that are called to a scene if a nuclear source is detected.
FIGURE A
 
Here's one of the 42 Palm CZT Spectrometer devices at work. Photo credit: Los Alamos National Laboratory, LeRoy Sanchez. Roll over picture for a larger image.
The device slips into a cradle on the detector and communicates with the radiation detector's microprocessor. The detector uses a small crystal that releases charge when it is hit by radiation. The unique signature of the radiation is analyzed by the microprocessor in the device to identify the source of radiation it detects.
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