ContainerProbe-Net

ContainerProbe-Net is a global system concept for high throughput Risk Screening of inter-modal containers while they are in motion. It will have the following detection capabilities: 1. Mis-declared hazardous materials: - illegal waste exports or imports; - hazardous materials causing many annual maritime insurance claims; - accumulated pest poisons. 2. Contraband materials: - smuggled and counterfeit goods to avoid import duties and restrictions; - narcotic drugs; - weapons for criminals; - illegal immigrants. 3. Terrorism materials: - explosives and precursors - Weapons of Mass Destruction - fissile materials. The demand for this type of detection capability with high throughput has been declared by the EU, USA and other nations as a consequence of the rising policy of Civil Security. Efforts to advocate ContainerProbe-Net to both U.S.A. and EU security research administrators are progressing as the private investment base grows. ContainerProbe-Net directly addresses the 100% Risk Screening of containers requirement. Neutron interrogation of each container on a train or on an automated vehicle passing through the ContainerProbe portal will provide information about the bulk elemental composition of the contents. A burst of pulsed neutrons for a combination of prompt γ and secondary neutron emissions can provide a measured 'fingerprint' which will remain constant from the start to the end of the container's journey. A period of two seconds is available per container in order to capture data for each container on a moving train. Contents of containers are already, to some extent, registered in the export logistics databases. However these disparate systems have evolved with computer science and the needs of ports and customs authorities. Today such systems are far from complete. The global access to such registered container data and the fusion of this information with actual physical measurement data is the Network part of the concept. Risk screening implies that anomalies are detected; both physically measured and filtered from the globally accessible container logistics data that is accessed by new information search tools and network infrastructure. Anomalous containers can then be sorted for further examination with high resolution but low throughput systems. ContainerProbe is able to be implemented because a linear geometry or line source neutron generator with intense pulse. (author)