Development of international standards for instrumentation used for detection of illicit trafficking of radioactive material

Subcommittee 45B “Radiation Protection Instrumentation” of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is charged with the development of international standards for instrumentation used for monitoring of illicit trafficking of radioactive material through international boarders and territories, as well as inside countries. Currently three IEC standards are published. The international participation and the main characteristics of the following three standards are discussed and presented: IEC 62327 “Hand-held Instruments for the Detection and Identification of Radionuclides and Additionally for the Indication of Ambient Dose Equivalent Rate from Photon Radiation”, IEC 62401 “Alarming Personal Radiation Devices for Detection of Illicit Trafficking of Radioactive Material” and IEC 62244 “Installed Radiation Monitors for the Detection of Radioactive and Special Nuclear Materials at National Borders”.