Princeton, New Jersey – Princeton Gamma-Tech Instruments, Inc., a leading developer of Radiation Isotope Identifiers, Radiation Area Monitors and High Purity Germanium detector technology for Nuclear Power plants, Homeland Security, National Research Laboratories, and overseas nuclear safety agencies, completes radiation sensor testing on the Boeing Echo Ranger Large Displacement Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (LDUUV).
New radiation detection tools from Princeton Gamma Tech Instruments were included in included in a series of tests performed by the Boeing Echo Ranger, an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) during recent testing in the Pacific Ocean, of Catalina Island, Calif. The test campaign allowed spectroscopic monitoring of the seabed. The cooperative effort included engineers from both organizations combining best practices to perform ultra-low level isotope discrimination that is naturally occurring in the Pacific Ocean.
Applications for advanced nuclear radiation detection and underwater isotope identification include uranium exploration, underwater vessel interdiction and border security.. Princeton Gamma Tech offers a patented technology for background subtraction which allows levels down to 100X below background to be identified, as well as isotope category and isotope specific dose rates. “As an AUV service provider, we gained important knowledge about the near-term prospect of combining Boeing’s high-level autonomous behaviors with PGT’s rapid on-board processing for a truly autonomous undersea radiological search capability,” states Jameson Garrett, program development manager with Boeing Information Solutions, part of Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS).
The test efforts represent an expansion of applications for Princeton Gamma Tech and other manufacturers of radiation detection into a broad cross-section of environmental monitoring applications. Air monitoring stations, water purification and sampling, industrial hygiene and other related industries are scrambling in recent months to integrate nuclear detection sensors and capability after the unexpected release of radioactive materials into the ecosystem following the Fukushima Japan Nuclear Power Plant accident in March, 2011.
Below is actual data from the PGT Isotope Identifier which shows the characteristic peaks from salt water. K40 (the scientific notation for potassium or table salt) has a signature peak between 1400 – 1500 keV. The attenuation and shielding of radiation in water is considerable. It was represented by the peak shift from the measurement above and below water. Marine exercises have enabled manufacturers to compensate for the very low backgrounds (below 5 uR/hr) which exist only at sea, a condition unfamiliar on land where backgrounds of 10uR/hr and higher are considered NORM.
Filename: SPEC0013.N42 – BACKGROUND ABOVE WATER – 1465 keV Top Peak
PHOTON DATA:
Detector: gamma
Live Time: 60 sec
Count Rate: 206.033 CPS
Total: 12362 Counts
Dose Rate: 0 uSv/h (0 urem/h)
Filename: SPEC0016.N42 – BACKGROUND BELOW WATER – 1481 keV Top Peak
PHOTON DATA:
Detector: gamma
Live Time: 60 sec
Count Rate: 207.133 CPS
Total: 12428 Counts
Dose Rate: 0.0539396 uSv/h (5.39396 urem/h)
For more information on custom radiation detection solutions, please visit their website at www.pgt.com.
About Princeton Gamma-Tech Instruments, Inc.:
Princeton Gamma-Tech Instruments, Inc. (PGT) is a supplier of X-ray and Gamma-ray Detectors, Spectroscopy systems, Radiation Detection Area Monitors and Radioactive Radioisotope Identifier products. The Company serves a broad customer base in scientific research, industrial materials analysis, and Homeland Security. PGT has its headquarters with highly skilled R&D and manufacturing staff in its Princeton facility.
For more information about PGT, please visit www.pgt.com.
