Att_A_-_RPM_Role_-_FINAL.pdf

Request for Information # 70RDND19I00000005 – Attachment A

Attachment A: Radiation Portal Monitor Role

RPM POE Global Nuclear Detection Architecture

Radiation Portal Monitor(s) (RPM) located at ports of entry (POE) are a component of the Global Nuclear Detection Architecture (GNDA). As a part of the GNDA, the deployed RPM system must assist the Government in balancing security concerns against wasting resources and overburdening legitimate commerce. The deployed radiological/nuclear (R/N) detection technology needs to be optimized against the threat space facing the United States (U. S.) At the same time, it needs to minimize the time wasted by law enforcement personnel conducting inspections of nuisance alarms.

As part of the GNDA, the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) and its partners recognize that the threat items facing the R/N detection mission and the deployed RPMs include nuclear weapons, Improvised Nuclear Devices, nuclear materials, Radiological Dispersal Devices and radiological materials. The variations on these threat items can vary greatly in terms of construction, capability, and availability. The radiation signatures generated become even more complex as these threats are shielded by the weapon structure or cargo; these can consist of low, medium, or high atomic number (Z) materials.

It is required that deployment of RPMs in support of the GNDA mission must not overburden law enforcement personnel with inspecting obviously legitimate shipments. Legitimate, unregulated, radioactive cargo is currently entering the U. S. in the form of brick, stone, tile, food products, fertilizer, bulk chemicals, liquid natural gas, ceramics, and sanitary products. All of these materials contain amounts of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) that are neither threats nor regulated substances. In addition, legitimate regulated sources are entering the country in the form of medical and industrial isotopes which require paperwork inspection before entry.

Therefore, the best RPM technologies for CWMD to deploy in support of the GNDA are those that can:

• Maximize detection of threat objects contained within cargo and shielding

• Minimize referring cargo containing only NORM materials

• Increase the efficiency of verifying legitimate radionuclide shipments of industrial and medical sources

RPM Use at POE

RPM systems are operated by trained federal law enforcement personnel to scan containerized cargo, commercial conveyances, and Privately Owned Vehicles (POV) for illicit R/N materials at POEs. RPM scans of these moving vehicles are referred to as occupancies. Government personnel, operators, and administrators coordinate RPM operations with other Government activities at POEs.

Law enforcement personnel interact with the RPM and data from RPM scans in the following use cases:

• Directly observe an occupancy and RPM response (only in rare occurrences).

• Reference the presence and classification of any R/N materials in the vehicle when interviewing occupants.

• Operate multiple RPM lanes and entry gates remotely from a central location on an IPv6 network, while maintaining lawful control of entering vehicles via cameras, and directing vehicles with radionuclide materials to appropriate locations for additional inspection.

• Refer to data from a vehicle RPM scan when conducting additional inspection of that vehicle.

• Refer to data from a vehicle RPM scan when entering additional meta-data of that vehicle post inspection.

• Refer to data from a vehicle RPM scan, with visual images of the vehicle, when instigating law enforcement activities outside the POE.

Government administrators and technical staff support the R/N detection mission at POEs by:

• Optimizing RPM parameter settings, libraries, etc. that relate to R/N materials and objects. This may be done through the use of computer simulation and replay tools which mimic a radiation detection instrument’s response.

• Updating RPM parameter settings, libraries, etc. that relate to R/N detection locally and over Government networks.

• Validating RPM calibrations (or conducting RPM calibrations).

• Providing scientific support by analyzing RPM scanning information, radiation spectral information, and legal documentation to ensure only properly licensed radiation sources enter the country.

• Inspecting spectral background radiation data to ensure proper system operations at POE.

POE Variances

CWMD deploys RPMs to various lane types at various POE locations along the coast and border of the United States. R/N inspection lanes have been sized and equipped based on the type of conveyance that is allowed to be inspected. POE exist along all the land borders of the U. S. and various climate zones and watersheds. POE also exist in every major coastal port city of the U.

S. and equipment must operate under the possible threat of flooding and major storms.

In general, there are four inspection lane types at land border POE: cargo, bus, POV, and wide lane. In some instances, these types are combined such that POV lanes or cargo lanes are also equipped to handle buses. Most important for the RPM Replacement Project are wide-lane inspections, where over-size conveyances can require up to a 22-foot horizontal and 17-foot vertical clearance (typically only 16-foot horizontal and 16-foot vertical). Wide lanes have typically used RPMs designed to be wider along the traffic flow to compensate the increased distance between the sensors and source, resulting in much wider foundation pads available for use by new RPM deployments.

POE are located in a wide variety of climate zones. Using the climate conditions defined by the Department of Defense (MIL-STD-810G, Annex C) and the Government’s experience, the POE climate zones are defined as general, warm, and cold as detailed in Table 1.

Table 1. POE Climate Zones and Climatic Conditions

POE Climate Zones

Lower Temp (°C)

Upper Temp (°C)

Humidity Solar

Watt/ft.

Covered MIL- SPEC Climatic

Conditions

General -30 40 93% at 40 °C 95 A3,B1,B2,C1

Warm -30 55 93% at 40 °C 110 A1, A2

Cold -40 40 93% at 40 °C 95 C2 Note: The POE climate zones covered include a much higher humidity requirement and solar loading requirement than the military standard due to conditions observed at existing POE.

Many POE are located near waterways and in the path of flooding and hurricanes. Therefore, the POE and equipment deployed there need to be designed to survive relatively probable conditions. Many of the POE are located within Zone A, as defined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, below the 100-year flood plain. Zone A areas have a 1% yearly chance of flooding and a 33% chance of flooding over 20 years. In addition, there is a high probability that many coastal POE will experience both a minor or major hurricane over their 20-year life span as shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Probability of Hurricane Force Winds for Selected Port Cities of the Eastern United States

Location

Probability (%) of Minor Hurricane Winds Within (Less than) 111 miles per hour (mph)

Probability (%) of Major Hurricane Winds in Excess of 111 mph

10 years 15 years 20 years 10 years 15 years 20 years Brownsville, TX 52 67 77 20 28 36 Corpus Christi, TX 50 65 75 21 29 37

Galveston, TX 79 90 95 35 47 58 New Orleans, LA 74 87 93 28 39 48

Biloxi, MS 65 79 88 26 37 46

Location

Probability (%) of Minor Hurricane Winds Within (Less than) 111 miles per hour (mph)

Probability (%) of Major Hurricane Winds in Excess of 111 mph

10 years 15 years 20 years 10 years 15 years 20 years Mobile, AL. 65 79 88 26 37 46

Panama City, FL 79 90 95 31 43 53 Tampa, FL 85 94 98 39 52 63

Fort Myers, FL 85 94 98 44 58 68 Miami, FL 95 99 100 69 83 90

Cape Canaveral, FL 79 90 95 33 45 55

Jacksonville, FL 61 76 85 17 25 32 Savannah, GA 52 67 77 12 18 23 Charleston, SC 65 79 88 20 28 36

Myrtle Beach, SC 65 79 88 23 33 41 Virginia, Beach, VA 50 65 75 12 18 23

Ocean City, MD 35 47 58 9 13 17 Atlantic City, NJ 39 52 63 11 17 21 New York City, NY 48 62 73 15 21 28

Providence, RI 65 79 88 25 36 44 Nantucket, MA 74 87 93 28 39 48

Boston, MA 46 60 70 12 18 23 Portland, ME 25 36 44 3 4 6 San Juan, PR 73 86 93 35 47 58

U.S. VI 84 94 97 46 60 70

The RPM Replacement Project has specified a resistance to Radiofrequency (RF) interference greater than the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard. The requirement is to allow the Government to install RPMs in close proximity to Radiofrequency Identification (RFID) antenna at POE. The ANSI standard only assumes a single, vehicle related, broadcasting antenna in the region near the RPM (though the RPM is not in the near field of the antenna).

However, with Government RFID systems installed, there can now be multiple broadcasting antenna within the lane, requiring the RPM be operable in higher RF fields.