Arktis detectors can also be installed in doorways or used in baggage handling areas. They work completely passively, unlike the most famous radiation detector, the Geiger counter. Special materials within Arktis’ devices react when exposed to subatomic particles emitted by radioactive materials. The small amount of light (scintillation) produced by this reaction is measured by a sensor and subsequently processed by a computer algorithm.
Since different radioactive materials produce different emissions, it is often possible to readily determine the type of material detected (for example, isotopes of uranium or cobalt). Panniello explains that his company can integrate notifications into its security systems so staff can receive automated alerts on their smartphones when radioactivity is detected nearby. Detections can also be flagged at a central security hub where he can coordinate an appropriate response.
His company also makes drones with radiation sensors. This isn’t very useful at airports, but it could help investigators scan large areas for discarded radioactive material.
There are many examples of objects and devices containing radioactive material, from smoke alarms to industrial instruments to medical telemedicine devices. Not all pose a risk of harm, but some do. There are also concerns that some landfills and waste piles are being contaminated by people who have inadvertently dumped more dangerous radioactive sources.
A report published last year by Xenovia Homan and colleagues at King’s College London pointed to challenges facing several South Asian countries, such as ensuring the careful disposal of radioactive materials. “There are people who are specifically looking for this. They may try to steal it or smuggle the material to sell it,” she says. In May 2021, investigators discovered her Indian scrap dealer where she reportedly collected 7 kg of uranium. Authorities have arrested two of her men suspected of trying to sell uranium online.
Improper disposal of radioactive material and later discovery in this way can have dire consequences. Look at the Goiânia accident. In 1987, his two men in Brazil stole parts of a telemedicine machine from an abandoned radiotherapy facility in the city of Goiania. They almost immediately suffered from radiation sickness, experiencing symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea, but continued dismantling the machines, unaware that they contained the highly radioactive isotope Cesium-137. A few days later they sold some of the machine’s parts to a scrapyard.
A scrapyard owner found a glowing blue powder inside one of these parts. He and his family took it out and handled it, completely unaware of its dangers. His her six-year-old niece, Leide das Neves Ferreira, was playing with powder on her face. She and her three others died as a result of radiation exposure. About 250 people were contaminated in the incident.
There are other equally bizarre and tragic examples. In Kramatorsk, Ukraine, a quarry lost cesium-137 from instruments that eventually turned into concrete and subsequently into apartment walls. As a result, successive generations of residents were exposed to radiation in the 1980s. At least two children died before the source was discovered.
Given the large number of radiation sources of varying intensity in nature, constant vigilance is required. Last month, the International Atomic Energy Agency released a report that telemedicine equipment was stolen in Mexico in 2013. The device contained Cobalt-60 and had been removed from the shield before being left in the field. A civilian who discovered the machine suffered radiation damage to his left shoulder and right leg.
Both Homan and Geasi say that international regulatory and monitoring protocols for radioactive materials have improved significantly over time, especially at borders. The result has been discoveries like those made at Heathrow in December. However, there are still gaps in these defenses. Some countries do not have the ability to detect the movement of radioactive or nuclear material across their borders, Ghiassee says.
Paniello says some countries should be more aggressive in screening airports for radiation. “Britain is one of those countries where enough attention is paid to this,” he says. “But that’s the exception.”
