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Sandia supports a range of activities to help the nation better understand and respond to threats and safely recover from an incident involving radiological and nuclear weapons.
Sandia seeks to better understand the materials that could be used in radiological dispersion devices (RDDs). This knowledge aids in both defending against attacks and conducting forensics and attribution activities.
Examples of our work follow:
Sandia has been supporting the Department of Homeland Security’s countermeasures testbed by helping test stationary and mobile SMART radiological and nuclear detection systems at major ports. The tests are demonstrating the systems’ abilities to detect and distinguish radiological sources.
They are also confirming the feasibility of the alarm systems and procedures developed by Sandia, working closely with port personnel. The goal is to create concept of operations for handling alarms that minimize disruptions to port operations while maximizing the potential for identifying actual threats.
Customs personnel follow a strict protocol when facing a nuclear threat or smuggling incident at a border or port of entry. One step in that protocol is to call for reachback assistance—or expert consultation and laboratory analysis beyond that available at Customs laboratories—when in-depth information is needed to characterize the threat.
All three of the NNSA laboratories–Sandia, Lawrence Livermore, and Los Alamos National Laboratories–worked closely with Customs laboratories to design and implement a reachback program, and national lab specialists are on call 24/7 to provide that assistance as needed.
Sandia is developing a coating to provide immediate containment of a site contaminated with radioactive material.
This coating is a thick “paint” that encapsulates contaminated surfaces, binding to the radioactive material and preventing its spread. The coating can then be peeled off of the surface in large pieces, removing most of the radioactivity.
Our coating has successfully undergone bench-scale testing. It now requires additional validation testing on a larger scale.
First responders, planners, infrastructure owners, and decision makers now have guidance on planning a response to a dirty bomb—formally known as a radiological dispersal device (RDD)—to speed efforts to help injured victims and minimize the overall radiation dose to the public.
This guidance is available in the April 2006 issue of the Health Physics journal.
Based on more than 500 explosive experiments conducted in Sandia’s special facilities and expertise at Brookhaven National Laboratory and Sandia, this guidance puts strong science behind the tough decisions needed in the first hours following an RDD detonation. The guidance also reflects the concerns of the more than 200 potential end users—including fire fighters, hazmat and law enforcement personnel, public health officials, and senior decision makers—who offered suggestions to enhance its value in the real world.