Transmission (blue background) and emission (black background) image reconstructions of drums. This illustration appears in a section of the book covering gamma-ray nondestructive assay applications and techniques. Credit: William H. Geist et al., Springer, CC BY 4.0.
LANL NEWS RELEASE
An open-access book published by the Safeguards Science and Technology group at Los Alamos National Laboratory describes techniques used to nondestructively measure the presence of uranium and plutonium in a variety of settings.
People, organizations and agencies working in nuclear safeguards and security use these techniques to
- detect and deter clandestine nuclear weapons programs,
- prevent insider attempts to steal nuclear materials,
- support safeguards conducted by the International Atomic Energy Agency under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
The 735-page book is a substantial revision to Passive Nondestructive Assay of Nuclear Materials — the so-called PANDA manual — that has been a classic reference since 1991. The new edition, Nondestructive Assay of Nuclear Materials for Safeguards and Security, can be downloaded for free as a PDF through Springer.
Why this matters: The book’s extensive revisions are of interest to practitioners in the field of safeguarding and securing nuclear materials, including inspectors, operators and trainers.
- For this second edition, the editors drew on their vast international experience and engaged the help of their Los Alamos colleagues, as well as other national labs and organizations.
- The expanded reference covers modern approaches and technologies to nondestructively measure nuclear material.
- Nuclear data values have been updated.
Funding: This work, which supports the Lab’s global security mission, was funded by the DOE/NNSA offices of NA-241 (Office of International Nuclear Safeguards) and NA-211 (Office of International Nuclear Security).