In the aftermath of explosive terrorist attacks like Oklahoma City and the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, researchers at Idaho National Laboratory have been working to construct a portal-style, vehicle-borne explosives detection system. In December, the Idaho Explosives Detection System (IEDS) will be installed at Ohio's Wright-Patterson Air Force Base for semipermanent field testing.
The award-winning IEDS is designed to nonintrusively interrogate cargo trucks before they get near high-profile targets like federal buildings or foreign embassies.
"We offered the IEDS system to any military base that was interested in installing and operating the system," said Jeff Klinger, IEDS program manager. "Wright-Patterson stepped forward and was in the best position to provide us with real-world data."
The inspection process works similar to a semi-truck weight station. As cargo vehicles approach a facility, they are directed to drive into an inspection zone. Once the driver exits the vehicle and proceeds beyond a 90-foot safety area, the interrogation process begins. Using a small amount of moving components, the IEDS encloses each side of the vehicle.
In this setup, two neutron generators—one on each side—saturate the vehicle with neutrons at a rate of 2,000 repetitions per second.
This rapid interrogation causes the molecular makeup of materials inside the vehicle to excite and emit gamma rays.
At the same time, a series of 32 sodium-ion detectors identifies the signatures of the gamma rays. If explosives are present, IEDS will alert operators in less than 300 seconds.
"The IEDS introduces into the atoms a small amount of energy that allows the detectors to read the gamma rays without changing the molecular makeup of the materials," said Klinger. "This introduction of energy is so small and fast that it leaves no residual effect on items inside."
More info: Ethan Huffman, 208-526-0660
