ANSI and IEC standards for, and evaluation of, radiation detection instrumentation

During the last quarter of 2002, an effort was started to develop perfomance requirements for radiation instrumentation used for the detection of illicit trafficking of radioactive material. Coordinated by the US National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST), a team was formed to establish writing committees for the development of these requirements as American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards. The core of the new area was developed as ANSI N42, Homeland Security Instruments. A series of standards were developed followed by testing and evaluation (T&E) protocols that would be used for specific testing. Four US National Laboratories provided T&E support and work commenced to test instruments provided by manufacturers at no cost. During this time, discussions began regarding the formation of a new work group within the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). This new work group would be located within technical committee (TC) 45 which addresses nuclear instrumentation. This new work group, 15B, also began developing international standards to address the same instrument types. Following development of ANSI standards, the testing and evaluation process began, running for two distinct rounds. The results of the work was consolidated by NIST and released back to individual companies as well as the user community in a controlled manner. This document will provide details regarding the standards and their basis and status, as well as some information regarding the T&E process used in the USA.