Why Helium-3 for Homeland Security?
This is an excerpt from our whitepaper 'Helium-3 Gas Supply for Neutron Detectors in Homeland Security and Nuclear Safeguards Applications'
The mission of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) Office and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) requires neutron detection technology that will limit false alarms and protect from all threats, foreign and domestic.
To this day, there is not a technology in the market that is a one for one replacement for Helium-3 (³He) in all categories of longevity, stability, and sensitivity.
The impact of September 11th, 2001
The usage of Helium-3 gas spiked after the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001 for detectors to be used in Radiation Portal Monitors (RPMs). RPMs are used to screen people, vehicles, or other objects for the presence of illicit nuclear and radiological materials at land, sea, and air border stations, also known as ports of entry.
The Radiation Portal Monitor Program (RPMP) was successfully implemented across the United States from 2003 to 2009. Reuter-Stokes supplied over 40,000 ³He proportional counters for homeland security applications during this period.
Many of these detectors are still in use today as they were originally installed.
Assessing Helium-3 "alternatives"
The sudden reduction of the ³He stockpile led to a dramatic increase in cost and decrease in availability of the gas after September 11th, 2001.
The U.S. and the scientific community shifted resources towards research and development of alternative technologies such as Boron-10 lined tubes, Boron-10 Straw Detectors, Lithium-6 glass, LiF/ZnS scintillators, polyvinyl toluene (PVT) plastic, and Micro-Structured Semiconductor Neutron Detectors (MSNDs).
After almost two decades of research and development, each of these technologies still fall short to meet the technical requirements that ³He proportional counters provide.
Gas conservation efforts
With over 187,000 liters of ³He processed since 2002, Reuter-Stokes understands the importance of gas conservation and we continue to take actions to ensure that ³He gas will be available for these critical applications.
Our proportional counters are designed and manufactured to have a mean time before failure (MTBF) greater than 100 years. Every detector and seal component are helium leak checked to be less than 1 X 10-9 cc/sec – air to assure that the gas will not be lost over time. This provides peace of mind and security that the detector will outlive its required use and the gas can be recycled for different purposes.
The capability to reclaim ³He gas from detectors that are no longer required for their original intent, as well as the use of government-allocated gas, allows Reuter-Stokes to continue to support the U.S. homeland security market.
Conclusion
³He proportional counters for use in the Radiation Portal Monitors, Handheld RIIDs, Mobile Detection, and Personal Backpack equipment are crucial to provide safety and security against nuclear attacks.
Reuter-Stokes is the world leader in radiation detection technology and continues to manufacture the most sensitive and ruggedized sensors for the harshest environments.