Course Overview
This 5-days Radiological and Nuclear Alarm Response Procedure course, which CBRN Academy has designed, will enhance participants’ radiation safety and security awareness and enhance their capability to detect ionising radiation and identification techniques. Furthermore, course participants will develop skills to detect smuggled nuclear or other radioactive materials while using Radiation Portal Monitors (RPMs) and Handheld Radiation Detection Equipment (HRDE).
HRDE, RPMs, and radioactive sources will be introduced to participants before moving to the field training module of the course. This part of the course also focuses on detection, alarm assessment, locating and identifying R/N materials (the source may be hidden inside a car, truck, container, cargo, or even smuggled by a pedestrian). This course can be adapted for staff who have different levels of experience in handling radioactive sources.
CBRN Academy instructors ensure all of our courses are adapted to the needs of individual organisations.
This course is recommended to be taken regularly (3-6 months) to refresh students with new techniques to mask and hide smuggled N/R materials.
Equipment and live source requirements:- Handheld equipment such as:-
- Personal Radiation Detectors (PRDs),
- Radioisotope Identification Devices (RIDs),
- Fixed Radiation Detection Equipment (RPMs), and
- Radioactive Sources (RS for live agents training);
- Gamma source and a Neutron source.
- The trainer may require additional props for practical exercises.
The above items will be required for the training course.
Course Objectives and outcomes.
At the end of this course, participants should be able to:
- Conduct an effective secondary inspection to disposition radiation alarms appropriately.
- Identify the role and importance of secondary inspection in the alarm response process.
- Describe secondary inspection process steps.
- Select the appropriate secondary inspection instrument for alarming conveyance.
- Identify R/N materials and their harmful biological effects.
- Use R/N material in different domains.
- Isolate the confiscated R/N source.
- Establishing a safety area, whether with high radiation activity (sealed source) or contaminated (radioactive materials).
Course Outlines
Module (01)
1.1 Radiation basics.
1.2 Understand the fundamentals of radiation basics.
1.3 Recall the fundamentals of ionising radiation and radioactive materials.
1.4 Explain the radiation source used on nuclear materials signatures.
1.5 Discuss unit to measure activity and potential hazard.
1.6 Discuss sources of radiation that people can be exposed to.
1.7 Discuss practical radiation safety measures.
Module (02)
2.1 Introduction to handheld equipment.
2.2 The different categories of handheld radiation detection equipment.
2.3 The need for handheld radiation detection equipment when performing a secondary inspection.
2.4 Discuss the specific uses of each radiation detection device.
Module (03)
3.1 Radiation Portal Monitors (RPMs) fundamentals.
3.2 Identify the purpose of a radiation detection system.
3.3 Describe how radiation portal monitors (RPMs) work.
3.4 Identify system components.
3.5 Discuss how an alarm threshold is determined.
3.6 Discuss factors affecting detection levels.
Module (04)
4.1 Radiation alarm response procedure.
4.2 Understand the procedure required to process alarms appropriately.
4.3 Describe select elements of the national response plan.
4.4 Define primary alarm categories.
4.5 Describe the alarm response process.
4.6 Define criteria for referral to secondary inspection.
4.7 Define criteria for detention/release decision after secondary inspection.
4.8 Define alarm disposition codes.
Module (05)
Live agent scenario training – Several scenarios will be undertaken where radioactive sources are hidden inside different conveyances (Large containers, trucks cabins, small and large vehicles, packages, baggage, luggage etc. The participants will be guided and coached to detect, locate, and identify the sources by following SOPs covered in previous lectures.
Intended recipients and min max numbers
This course is suitable for both public and private sectors employees, such as
• Government,
• Law Enforcement,
• Hospitals (that use radioactive materials and sources for the treatment of cancers)
People responsible for combatting illicit trafficking, smuggling, theft, sabotage, illegal transfer, and unlawful access involving R/N materials and their associated activities in transport. CBRN Academy subject matter experts have designed this course for front Line officers, such as;
• Law Enforcement,
• Customs Officers,
• Border Guards,
• Police, and Army) and other stakeholders such as
• firefighters,
• Nuclear research reactors operators, and
• Nuclear Power Plants security staff and operators and
States trying to make their international borders (airports, seaports, land borders, metro, and train station) are free from any R/N illicit trafficking. CBRN Academy can also provide this course to different stakeholders, e.g. local nuclear energy commission’s staff, the medical staff involved in cancer treatment and the security staff in charge of the security of these materials.
Course Certification
A certificate of training completion will be issued to all successful participants by the end of the course, which your CBRN Academy instructor will sign. To qualify for the official Certificate, the student must attend and complete all assessments and score 80% or more.
