FEDERAL LABORATORY CONSORTIUM RECOGNIZES LAWRENCE LIVERMORE FOR ORTEC® RADIATION DETECTION TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER

Highly Sensitive Neutron Source Identification System Considered Best of the Best

OAK RIDGE, TN, May 13, 2008–The Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) selected Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to receive an award for excellence in technology transfer for its development of the first portable neutron detector for interdicting illegal nuclear materials.

The technology was licensed by the ORTEC Products Group of AMETEK, Inc. in 2005 and incorporated into its ORTEC® family of advanced hand-held radiation identifiers. That product family now includes a full line of portable detectors: the highly successful Detective and Detective-EX; the high-efficiency ORTEC Fission Meter™ neutron detection system; and the recently introduced ultra-light weight Micro-Detective.

The award was announced on Thursday, May 8, 2008 at an award ceremony held at the FLC’s National Meeting in Portland, Oregon.  The FLC is a nationwide network of federal laboratories founded in 1974 to promote the transfer of technology developed at more than 250 federal laboratories and research centers nationwide.

The ORTEC® Fission Meter uses traditional neutron detector technologies with specialized electronics and software algorithms developed by Lawrence Livermore to count neutron events and correlate the time associated with those events. These special algorithms use that timing and neutron count information to distinguish between those that are background or non-threat materials and those that are fissionable material (uranium or plutonium) that could be used in nuclear weapons.

This neutron-only technique is highly complementary with the ORTEC® Detective family of radiation identifiers that use gamma-ray detection to distinguish between threat and non-threat materials. The Detective family of portable detectors also incorporates technology licensed from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

“These were the first portable neutron detector systems able to distinguish between a fissile and non-fissile neutron source in real time. They provide “proof positive” identification of fissile neutron sources, such as uranium and plutonium, and are able to differentiate between weapons-usable material and other items,” notes Jon Kidder, Vice President and General Manager of AMETEK Advanced Measurement Technology.

“The technology provides first responders, HAZMAT teams, fire departments, government authorities and others with the ability to quickly and reliably screen objects for potentially dangerous nuclear material. It also greatly improves the ability of authorities to resolve alarms without interfering with the normal flow of commerce at airports, border crossings, ports and transportation terminals,” adds Mr. Kidder.