Detection of special nuclear material at ports and airports using a modular detection system

The MODES_SNM project, funded by the European Community within the scope of the FP7 security theme, explores new techniques for the design and demonstration of novel technologies for the detection of dangerous radioactive materials. Noble gas pressurized detectors are developed and optimized to build a human portable modular detector system to detect and identify illicit SNM. Since masked or shielded SNM is hard to detect, the MODES_SNM detector system is sensitive to both fast and thermal neutrons and to photons emitted by the SNM. Thus, the project aims to increase the detection sensitivity of shielded SNM, to reduce the false alarm rate and to provide a mobile system to be used by both experts and non-experts in the field of radiation detection. The results from the field demonstration in ports and airports in Europe and the UK will be presented.