Analytical capability of an explosives detection by a prompt gamma-ray neutron activation analysis

Neutron-induced prompt gamma-ray analysis method was evaluated for the detection of explosives by measuring the H, C(C/H), and N(N/H) concentrations of samples at a research nuclear reactor.The hydrogen concentration was measured from the calibration curves obtained from various samples which contained hydrogen, and the detection limit for the determination of hydrogen in the samples was estimated. Standard reference materials (NIST SRMs) were used as analytical controls.The γ-spectra obtained here will be directly used for further studies as a training set for a pattern recognition to develop suitable discriminant classes with which explosives can be distinguished from innocuous materials.