[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 10 (Friday, January 14, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2612-2614]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-835]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology

[Docket No.: 041119323-4323-01]


Radiation Detection Instrument Evaluations

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: On behalf of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the 
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is coordinating 
performance tests, supporting the ANSI N42.32, N42.33, N42.34 and 
N42.35 standards, of commercially available equipment for the DHS by 
various National laboratories. The tests are designed to determine the 
effectiveness of radiation detection instruments that may be used by 
first responders in a radiological incident. The participating National 
laboratories are: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Pacific 
Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Los Alamos National Laboratory 
(LANL) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL).

DATES: Manufacturers who wish to participate in the program must submit 
an executed Letter of Understanding by February 14, 2005, 5 p.m. 
Eastern Standard Time.

ADDRESSES: Letters of Understanding may be obtained from and should be 
submitted to Dr. Leticia Pibida, National Institute of Standards and 
Technology, Physics Laboratory, Ionizing Radiation Division, 100 Bureau 
Drive, Mail Stop 8462, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8462. Letters of 
Understanding may be faxed to: Dr. Leticia Pibida at (301) 926-7416.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For shipping and further information, 
you may telephone Dr. Leticia Pibida at (301) 975-5538 or Dr. Michael 
Unterweger at (301) 975-5536 or e-mail: [email protected] or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On behalf of the Department of Homeland 
Security, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is 
coordinating performance tests of commercially available equipment 
based on the ANSI N42.32, N42.33, N42.34 and N42.35 standards as well 
as on the test and evaluation protocols for the Department of Homeland 
Security (DHS) by various National laboratories. The tests are designed 
to determine the effectiveness of radiation detection instruments that 
may be used by first responders in a radiological incident. The 
participating National laboratories are: Oak Ridge National Laboratory 
(ORNL), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Los Alamos 
National Laboratory (LANL) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory 
(LLNL).
    Interested manufacturers should contact NIST at the address given 
above. NIST will supply a Letter of Understanding, which the 
manufacturer must execute and send to NIST. NIST will then assign the 
manufacturer's equipment to the National laboratory conducting the 
testing for that type of device and will provide the manufacturer with 
shipping instructions for their equipment. All equipment tested under 
this program must meet the minimum specifications stated in ANSI 
Standards N42.32 ``Performance Criteria for Alarming Personal Radiation 
Detectors for Homeland Security,'' N42.33 ``Portable Radiation 
Detection Instrumentation for Homeland Security,'' N42.34 ``Performance 
Criteria for Hand-held Instruments for the Detection and Identification 
of Radionuclides,'' and N42.35 ``Evaluation and Performance of 
Radiation Detection Portal Monitors for Use in Homeland Security,'' as 
detailed below.
    The instruments provided will be tested according to the provisions 
in the standards and will be returned to the manufacturer after the 
tests by the National laboratory that performed the tests. 
Manufacturers should be aware that some of the testing protocols may 
damage or destroy the equipment. At the conclusion of the testing, the 
equipment will be returned to the Manufacturer, c.o.d., in the 
condition the equipment is in at the conclusion of the testing. Neither 
NIST, the Department of Homeland Security, nor any National laboratory 
will be responsible for the condition of the equipment when returned to 
the manufacturer. As a condition for participating in this testing 
program, each manufacturer must agree in advance to hold harmless all 
of these parties for the condition of the equipment.

[[Page 2613]]

    The information acquired during the tests will be compiled by the 
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and will be copied to the 
manufacturer for their instruments. A summary of the results of 
equipment testing will be made publicly available. Manufacturers who do 
not want the results of the testing of their equipment to be made 
publicly available should not participate in this program.
    Participating manufacturers must provide three units of each 
instrument model. For portal monitors, two units of each instrument 
model are required. Manufacturers will pay all shipping costs, but 
there is no cost to the manufacturer for the testing. For the results 
to be valid two out of three submitted instruments per model must be 
operational for all tests. No modifications to the instruments are 
permitted during the testing process. Only calibrated instruments will 
be accepted for the testing program.
    The types of instruments and preliminary specifications for each 
type are as follows:

Type A Instruments

    Alarming personal radiation devices designed to detect low levels 
of radiation and alert the wearer with a visible, audible or vibratory 
alarm. They are not to be electronic dosimeters, radiation survey 
meters or other instruments designed for health physics use. If 
submitted for testing under this category, electronic dosimeters, 
survey meters, and similar health physics instruments will be returned 
to the manufacturer without testing.

Preliminary Specifications for Type A

     Personal sized (less than 20x10x 5 cm and less than 400 
g).
     Capable of detecting photon exposure rates from 
approximately 10 to 3000 micro R/h.
     Capable of detecting photon energies from approximately 10 
to 1000 keV.
     Capable of photon exposure rate measurements with 30% accuracy.
     Audible, visible and/or vibratory alarm less than 2 
seconds after detection.
     Optional response to neutrons.
     Mean time to false alarm greater than 1 hour.
     Capable of normal operation over temperature range from -
20 [deg]C to +50 [deg]C and humidity from 40% to 93%.
     Unaffected by RF from 20 MHz to 1000 MHz, magnetic fields 
of 1 mT and electrostatic discharges of 6-8 kV.

Type B Instruments

    Portable radiation detection instrumentation equipped with gamma- 
and x-ray detectors. The instruments shall be able to determine 
exposure rate and be equipped with alarming capabilities. The survey 
meters should be submitted either as a Type 1 or a Type 2 instrument 
according to standard N42.33 specifications. If submitted for testing 
under this category, electronic dosimeters, and personal radiation 
devices instruments will be returned to the manufacturer without 
testing.

Preliminary Specifications for Type B

Type 1: Detection and Interdiction
     Storage space less than 1 ft3 excluding 
extendable probes.
     Weight less than 10 pounds (4.55 kg).
     Outer instrument case shall be rigid, shock resistant, 
splash proof and dust resistant.
     Capable of detecting photon exposure rates from 
approximately 1 to 1000 micro R/h (that can be achieved with several 
probes).
Type 2: Hazard Assessment
     Storage space less than 0.12 3 excluding 
extendable probes.
     Weight less than 6 pounds (2.7 kg).
     Outer instrument case shall be rigid, shockproof, 
waterproof (blowing rain) and dust proof.
     Capable of detecting photon exposure rates from 
approximately 100 micro R/h to 1000 R/h (that can be achieved with 
several probes).
For Both Type 1 and 2
     Displays and alarm indications shall be oriented towards 
the user.
     The instrument case shall be constructed of materials that 
provide easy decontamination for radioactive materials and other 
potential surface contaminants.
     Capable of photon exposure rate measurements with 30% accuracy.
     Instruments shall allow the user to set exposure rate 
alarm levels.
     Instruments shall indicate at least the following faults: 
low battery supply; detector failure; and high exposure rate level.
     Batteries shall provide at least 12 hours of continuous 
use under standard test conditions, i.e., the response of the 
instrument shall remain unchanged.
     Response time to increase or decrease in exposure rate 
display (indication of less than 20% from actual exposure rate value) 
shall be within 4 seconds.
     Instruments readout shall remain ``off-scale'' for 
exposure rates greater than the maximum value of the instrument range
     Capable of normal operation over temperature range from -
20 [deg]C to +50 [deg]C and humidity from 40% to 93%.
     Instruments shall be unaffected by RF interference from 20 
MHz to 1000 MHz, magnetic fields of 1 mT, and electrostatic discharges 
of 6-8 kV.

Type C Instruments

    Hand-held instruments for the detection and identification of 
radionuclides. These instruments shall provide gamma exposure or dose 
rate measurements, radionuclide identification, and be equipped with 
indication of neutron radiation. If submitted for testing under this 
category, instruments that are not equipped with gamma-ray and neutron 
detectors will be returned to the manufacturer without testing.

Preliminary Specifications for Type C

     Equipped with neutron detector.
     Capable of detecting photon energies from approximately 25 
to 3000 keV.
     The instrument shall have the ability to transfer data to 
an external device, such as a computer.
     The instrument shall include: a display that is easily 
readable over the required temperature range and under different 
lighting conditions, controls that are user-friendly for routine 
operation, a menu structure that is simple and easy to be followed 
intuitively, and a user-definable radionuclide library with access via 
the restricted mode. The instrument shall have at least two different 
operating modes, one mode for routine operation and the other as a 
restricted (password protected) mode. The instrument shall be capable 
of operation if the user is wearing gloves or if the instrument is 
enclosed in anti-contamination protection (e.g., plastic bag).
     Instruments shall be designed to prevent water ingress 
from rain, condensing moisture, or high humidity.
     Batteries shall be such that they provide operation for a 
minimum of 2 hours of continuous use.
     Capable of normal operation over temperature range from - 
20 [deg]C to +50 [deg]C and humidity from 40% to 93%.
     Unaffected by RF from 20 MHz to 1000 MHz, magnetic fields 
of 1 mT and electrostatic discharges of 6-8 kV.

Type D Instruments

    Fixed or Transportable portal monitor systems. These types of 
monitors include fixed or transportable systems used for detection of 
radioactive materials concealed in people, packages and vehicles 
(including rail vehicles). These systems shall be capable of

[[Page 2614]]

detecting gamma-rays emitted from radioactive sources; neutron 
detection is optional for all models except for vehicle monitoring. If 
portal monitors for vehicles are submitted for testing without neutron 
detection capabilities, instruments will be returned to the 
manufacturer without testing.

Preliminary Specifications for Type D

     Pedestrian, vehicles, rail vehicles and package monitors 
equipped with gamma-ray detection are accepted for testing.
     Vehicle monitors shall be equipped with neutron detectors.
     Instruments shall communicate, save and store time history 
data for later retrieval including background readings prior to and/or 
after an alarm, alarm information shall include time and date.
     Monitor shall be capable of providing local indication and 
alarm signals (these signals should be available at a remote station at 
a distance of at least 50 m).
     Monitors shall continuously indicate its operational or 
non-operational condition.
     Capable of normal operation over temperature range from - 
30 [deg]C to +55 [deg]C and humidity from 10% to 93%.
     Unaffected by RF from 20 MHz to 1000 MHz, magnetic fields 
of 1 mT and electrostatic discharges of 6-8 kV.

    Dated: January 10, 2005.
Hratch G. Semerjian,
Acting Director.
[FR Doc. 05-835 Filed 1-13-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-13-P