ORNL

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Test

Results released in July 2008 for the May 22, 2008 testing and evaluation of Defentect’s DM3^TM, Gammatect Plus^TM and Gammatect^TM sensors at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, managed by UT-Battelle, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy:

The Gammatect Plus^TM radiation sensor made near instantaneous on-screen displays of gamma radiation in testing. Both Defentect’s Gammatect^TM and Gammatect Plus^TM sensors notified a remote networked computer and sent alerts via Defentect’s DM3^TM integrated messaging system within 1 – 2 seconds. There were no false alarms observed during testing.

Tests conducted on Gammatect Plus^TM, with an NaI scintillator (sodium iodide sensor) were based on the radiological performance section (Section 5.1) of ANSI Standard N42.35, from the American National Standards Institute for Evaluation and Performance of Radiation Detection Portal Monitors for Use in Homeland Security. Testing was both dynamic and static.

Defentect’s Gammatect Plus^TM properly identified radiological isotopes outside of the American National Standards Institute criterion. The isotopes were identified in the dynamic tests with sources traveling at a speed of 1.2 meters per second yielding significantly shorter periods for identification than Defentect stated was needed in its materials.

In addition to testing for alarm on exposure as defined in the ANSI N42.35 standard, the following claimed capabilities of the Gammatect Plus^TM detector were observed: 

• Millisecond detection times
• Two-second isotope identification
• Network-based notification and messaging to remote devices

Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a multi-program science and technology laboratory managed for the U.S. Department of Energy by UT-Battelle. Scientists and engineers at ORNL conduct basic and applied research and development to create scientific knowledge and technological solutions that strengthen the nation’s leadership in key areas of science; increase the availability of clean, abundant energy; restore and protect the environment and contribute to national security. ORNL was established in 1943 to carry out the pilot-scale production and separation of plutonium for the World War II Manhattan Project.