Investigation of energy windowing algorithms for effective cargo screening with radiation portal monitors

• Gross counting algorithms do not produce detailed screenings.
• Energy windowing algorithms enhance nuclide identification capability.
• Proper use of EW algorithm can identify multiple threat nuclides.
• Utilizing specific set of calibration sources is important for nuclide identification.

Radiation portal monitors (RPMs) are distributed across the globe in an effort to decrease the illicit trafficking of nuclear materials. Many current generation RPMs utilizes large polyvinyltoluene (PVT) plastic scintillators. These detectors are low cost and reliable but have very poor energy resolution. The lack of spectroscopic detail available from PVT spectra has restricted these systems primarily to performing simple gross counting measurements in the past. A common approach to extend the capability of PVT detectors beyond simple “gross-gamma” use is to apply a technique known as energy windowing (EW) to perform rough nuclide identification with limited spectral information. An approach to creating EW algorithms was developed in this work utilizing a specific set of calibration sources and modified EW equations; this algorithm provided a degree of increased identification capability. A simulated real-time emulation of the algorithm utilizing actual port-of-entry RPM data supplied by ORNL provided an extensive proving ground for the algorithm. This algorithm is able to identify four potential threat nuclides and the major NORM source with a high degree of accuracy. High-energy masking, a major detriment of EW algorithms, is reduced by the algorithm's design.